Death Row Diva, Lowry Studio 26/10/12

The Lowry categorised Death Row Diva : The Final Account of Crimson Skye as Burlesque, something I haven’t experienced before, and actually something that I still am not sure I really have, as this show seemed to be much more than a pure Burlesque show.

Crimson Skye is the creation of Heather Malone, she is a glamorous ‘bur-les-cue’ performer from the southern states. We meet Crimson in her cell on death row and she tells us the story of her life, her loves and her obsessions that has ultimately lead her to face her final reckoning.

Unapologetic, endearing, and very funny, it is impossible to dislike Crimson, even as her increasingly gruesome tale unfolds. This was just a good old Southern gal who didn’t have the best start in life, trying to make good, it’s just a pity all those obstacles kept getting in her way! She has a lot of love to give, some of which she would love to share with the audience given half a chance, a nice line in Patsy Cline songs delivered in her own inimitable style, an a guest appearance by Ed the Severed Head, her one true love.

Crimson did a fantastic job engaging with the small and slightly reserved Lowry audience from the outset, and coped excellently with the slight technical hitches that cropped up, incorporating them into the performance rather than letting them put her off her stride. There were a couple of points where I felt the pace dropped ever so slightly and maybe could benefit from a little editing, but the pluses far outweighed the negatives. 

The elements of Burlesque were playful and excellently delivered, but, as I mentioned they were really just a small part of a gruesomely amusing, unique and well written one woman performance. There were some clever surprises built in to the show, and funny references to recent events. Crimson / Heather was brilliant, she created such an endearingly wicked character that it was impossible to dislike despite her actions. It must be quite a feat to deliver an eighty minute solo show, but she held the audience in the palm of her hand from start to finish. Wickedly enjoyable.

The Seagull Effect, Lowry Studio, 25/10/12

When the so called ‘Great Storm’ hit the south east of England in October 1987 I had just started as a trainee manager for J Sainsbury and was based in Horsham in Sussex. I don’t remember the storm itself, I must have slept through it, but I do remember arriving at work to see a huge queue of people outside the store. It turns out that the loading bay had blown in and couldn’t be opened, so we were unloading the trucks through a fire door, and this was limiting us to the amount of customers we could allow in the store at a time. Most of Horsham was without power, and would continue like that for three or four days, so demand for candles, matches, and tinned goods was huge. Watching the news that night, and seeing the devastation that had been wrought over large areas of the south east, felt quite surreal.

Idle Motion’s The Seagull Effect, told in a combination of narrative and physical theatre, takes us back to that night via a nicely conceived backwards dash through some major events of the last 25 years, which made me feel very old indeed. But, once it reaches the night of the storm it chooses not to focus on the big events, but the stories of individuals on that night, primarily the narrator (Grace Chapman), travelling to Brighton for a job interview, and a former couple (Joel Gatehouse and Kate Stanley) who are temporarily reunited by events and revisit their relationship over the course of the night. 

The piece explores the journeys that we take in our lives, and how impossible it is to have certainty in their outcomes, how shared experiences can bring us together and how seemingly disparate events can be connected, contrasting that with the theories published by Edward Lorenz, mathematician and meteorologist, that minute changes in weather models (the flap of a seagull’s wings of the title) can result in huge variances in outcomes.

The show is beautifully put together, the cast of six bringing together an interesting and thought provoking narrative, precisely choreographed movement, and some clever and original use of projection and sound, to result in a moving and quite beautiful hour’s entertainment.

Borderline Vultures, Secret Location, Salford Quays 19/10/12

Borderline Vultures is the latest of the productions in the InOnTheAct festival commissioned jointly by The Lowry and The Quays Arts and Cultural Development. It is turning out to be a wonderful series of works, and this latest creation is no exception. In fact ‘normal’ theatre is going to seem ever so dull after this!

Ever since I’d seen Happystorm Theatre’s brilliant ‘CryptProject : New Depths’ earlier this year I had been excited to see what they would come up with next, so, when details began to emerge about their latest commission, Borderline Vultures, there was no way I was going to miss the opportunity to experience it. Happystorm ‘get’ social media, and on the run up to this production they’ve used it very effectively in order to keep in touch with their supporters and build up interest in the production, without ever giving anything away.

Immersive theatre seems to be becoming more common these days, or maybe I’m actively seeking it out. It’s where you get to fully experience a production rather than just watching it. When done well it can fool with your head and before you know it you forget you are an observer of a creation and almost become part of it. This production takes that one step even further by allowing the participants a degree of independence in the way they experience the event, and allows them to actually influence the action. It must require a real leap of faith by the actors involved as you can’t ever predict exactly how your audience will choose to react. The creators, performers and designers of this production did an amazing job in creating a truly absorbing and unforgettable experience.

The only drawbacks to something as unique and exciting as this are that you can only ever really experience it to full effect once with the magic intact (but that really makes it all the more special in my eyes), and that, as a blogger I have the same dilemma as I did with You Once Said Yes – how do I convey how great it was without spoiling it for someone who has yet to experience it?  So this account will be necessarily light on detail I’m afraid.

Audience members gather in the bar of the Holiday Inn and are welcomed to the experience by representatives of a mysterious organisation Syntech (this isn’t a spoiler – it’s on the website!). They are then escorted in small groups to a nearby secret  location where events will unfold. And then, to a great extent, it’s up to you to explore this strange world and interact with its inhabitants, most of whom do not share a common language with you. Initially I was a bit confused as to what my purpose was (although I did prove myself to be completely incapable of following a very simple instruction – sorry Laura!), but quickly the intrigue builds as you explore the environment and interact with and observe some of the characters that inhabit the facility. Before too long you are completely absorbed in the adventure, searching for clues that will help you understand what is happening, building up conspiracy theories, joining up with complete strangers to explore spaces, and in my case proving without a shadow of a doubt that what I lack in co-ordination I can make up for in enthusiasm! The more you open up to this experience, the more you will get out of it.

Cleverly designed and devised, the attention to detail is amazing, there is so much to engage the curious mind. The cast are excellent, completely convincing and engaging from the start, even without a common language, and you really start to care about them. There is a nice blend of mystery and playfulness, and an extremely joyous denouement culminating in an onsite bar where the participants excitedly discuss their experience.

All in all, this was a wonderfully innovative and well realised creation that I was so glad I experienced. It left me feeling excited, energised and reluctant to leave – I could have stayed in that world for much longer. In fact, if you’ll excuse the dreadful pun I left this amazing Happystorm adventure stormingly happy, and once again privileged to have been a part of it.

The Alchemystorium, Lowry Studio, 4/10/12

Oh if only a trip to your local coffee chain was like this! 

If you visit the good folks at the Alchemystorium café, you may well get more than you bargained for with your coffee order!

This magical production from Gomito Theatre was just the tonic for a wet dreary autumn evening. An hour of magic, romance and comedy is blended together perfectly in this tale of friendship, love, longing and coffee. The production uses elements of physical theatre, dance, comedy, puppetry and mime to great effect to deliver an extremely funny and heart-warming narrative. The elements of puppetry were used to fantastic effect; a beautiful ballet performed by two puppets sticks particularly in my mind, but with so many magical moments throughout it seems churlish to pick any one out.

The three deviser / performers Katie Cooper, Lizzie Franks and Sam Worboys deliver outstanding and energetic performances, engaging the audience from the start, working perfectly together to deliver this delightful, eccentric tale. The pacing is finely judged, I found myself completely caught up in the events on stage, and actually a bit sad when it was all over.

The music used is haunting and nicely matched to the antics on stage, and the set is a piece of wonder in itself, incredibly inventive and quite literally transforming before your eyes.

I’m so glad I had a chance to see this original piece of theatre. Funny, touching and inventively told, a complete delight from start to finish.

The Heretic, Lowry Quays Theatre, 29/9/12

So then, a play centring on a climate change expert who has received death threats - doesn’t really sound like it will be that much fun does it, but from the pen of Richard Bean (he of the ‘One Man Two Guvnors’ phenomenon), with an exemplary cast brought together by the Library Theatre Company, and directed by the brilliant Chris Honer, this turned out to be one of the sharpest, most intelligent comedies I have seen. Oh and it is extremely funny too!

Dr Diane Cassell (Kate Hamer) is receiving death threats associated with her scientific stance on climate change, which she is not afraid to express, even when it is at odds with the party line of her department. One of her students Ben (Ciaran Kellgren) is struggling to reconcile his brilliantly scientific mind, with his paranoia over his carbon footprint. Ben has the hots for Dr Cassell’s firey daughter Phobe (Sophie Robinson), a highly intelligent young lady, home schooled by her mother, but dealing with a few issues. Dr Cassell’s boss, Professor Maloney (Stuart Fox), with whom she has a ‘history’, is struggling to balance the demands of home life, academia, commerce and politics and reign in his outspoken lecturer.

Rounding off the cast are the support workers, Site Services and ex-army man Geoff Tordoff (Andrew Westfield) who is investigating the death threats, and spikey HR Officer Catherine Tickell (Polly Lister), a stickler for due process.

The script and direction are incredibly sharp, and whilst there is a lot of science it is pitched extremely well, neither alienating the audience, nor getting in the way of either the action or the humour. The writer does not talk down to the audience, but does encourage them to challenge the facts and their preconceptions. The pace is perfectly judged, and the laughs come thick and fast.

The cast that has been assembled is very strong and all give fantastic performances that complement each other perfectly. I especially liked Andrew Westfield’s site services specialist, Geoff, with an aim to bring excellence to the workplace, and Ciaran Kellgren’s student Ben, so paranoid about his own carbon footprint that is gradually imploding. Both brilliant comedy performances, incorporating some well-judged subtleties that had me in stitches.

Whilst I had a few problems with the later moments of Act Two, that didn’t seem as well constructed as the rest of the play, this really was one of the most intelligent and downright funny plays I have seen in a long time. Definitely recommended, and through the laughs I think I actually might have learnt a bit of science too!