(Photograph: Tristram Kenton) Peter Bourke as Oberon, Billy Seymour as Puck
…where oxlips and the nodding violet grows Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine: There sleeps Titania sometime of the night, Lull’d in these flowers with dances and delight; And there the snake throws her enamell’d skin, Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in…”
Oberon – A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The Summer of 2019 was spent in the wild forest, surrounded by the most madcap, energetic, inclusive fairy tribe I have ever known!
So the summer of 2019 was anarchic, energetic, magical, heart-warming season. Directed by Sean Holmes it really brought the love and joy of the play to the Globe. We even had a midnight matinee and got to see the sunrise over the Thames!
I also had the honour of starting the show by bringing on a huge box containing Hippolyta as a delivery man. Something that caused a friend to call out to me as I was doing it!
The winter of 2018 began with the dark and atmospheric ‘Macbeth’ directed by Rob Hastie. When I first heard that Macbeth was going to be performed in the Wanamaker I was delighted and this production did not disappoint. Working with the candles in the scenes with the Witches I remarked;
“This is why I got into working with candles.”
I feel like this production really got what was possible with candles in terms of making the space dark and haunted.
Alongside ‘Macbeth’ was the equally devilish ‘Dr Faustus’ by Christopher Marlowe, directed by Paulette Randall. The backstage became a Hall of Mirrors:
(My photo – set design by Libby Watson)
So when I wasn’t bashing into, or apologising to my refection for almost hitting them with a door I was advising angels on how not to set fire to their wings and handing out a hundred lanterns. But with good friends in cast and crew it was great fun!
In and around these two shows were the short plays under the title; ‘Dark Night of the Soul’. All by female authors investigating the feminine response to the Faustus myth.
In the new year, we began what was to become a grand history cycle with ‘Edward II’ by Christopher Marlowe. In my hood and tunic I ran back and forth and up and down to bring this show to life. My partner (a history teacher) said it was one the best plays she had ever seen! The cast were absolute sweethearts, even when they were nervous or grumpy!
Alongside this was the story of Edward II’s great grandson, Richard II but in a groundbreaking production (which it really shouldn’t have been in early 2019) whose cast, creative team and stage management team were all women of colour. Co-directed by Adjoa Andoh and Lynette Linton
(Just don’t read the comments). I think it is a really powerful version of the play that highlights themes around family lines and honour. Michael Billington wrote in the Guardian:
“…what really hits one is the play’s eternal relevance. When Doña Croll’s veteran John of Gaunt declared “That England that was wont to conquer others Hath made a shameful conquest of itself”, a spontaneous roar erupted from the audience as if in recognition of the current chaos.”
I ended up on this show quite a lot in the winter and while I admit it was tiring to do I felt extremely lucky and it was an honour to work on it as a man.
To complete the season, Tom Stuart wrote a new play called ‘After Edward’ concerning LGBT rights, Section 28, identity and where we go from here. It was a dreamscape of historical figures like Gertrude Stein, Quentin Crisp, Harvey Milk and Margaret Thatcher. Directed by Brendan O’Hea, it was sweet, moving and uplifted people so much they were dancing out of the theatre into the evening.
So, we finished with ‘Richard II’, the proud flag of St George across the stage and I sat in the sunshine with a beer at the end of another glorious season at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Next Theatre update will include my trip to fairyland for ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream!’
The summer of 2018 for me was spent in Venice and Cyprus. The wooden backstage world of Shakespeare’s Globe was my home, my food was obsessing about a handkerchief, my clothes the uniform of a Venician soldier and my friends the soldiers and courtesans of Cyprus.
If you look back at where I have come from in terms of my career, from basically volunteer work in 2011, to be standing on The Globe stage in 2018 is unthinkable. Let us not pretend that this was not a HUGE step up for me. Let us also not pretend that I was not supported by the great SM team who toured ‘Hamlet’ around the Globe and a Production Team who delivered. If there was a Stage Management equivalent of ‘hiding behind skirts’ I did that throughout the rehearsal period. I’m not proud. But, this is important, despite what I felt (nervous anticipation and anxiety) and what I did (everything I could think of) feedback was positive and I DID IT. Your perception is but one part of your reality.
‘Othello’ is a great play, one I studied at A-Level so it was great to work on it on the Globe Stage with a great cast. An Othello, who gave his whole soul to the show, an Iago gripping the tail of the whirlwind he created, a Desdemona head over heels, an Emelia piecing the clues together, desperate to deny the truth she knows in her heart. It was great. Every one of them so delightful to work with.
So, it felt like a milestone, perhaps time will prove whether it was the peak of my career or not, but I DID IT and it was better than I ever expected.
Next time, I talk about the Winter Season 2018-2019 when ‘good things of day begin to droop and drowse, whilst night’s black agents to their preys do rouse…’
In January 2017 I got the call. It was from a friend from back in Wonderland. I was being put forward for a role as a Candle technician in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse; the candlelit theatre beside Shakespeare’s Globe. I went to the interview and gave it my all. I got the job. We arrive at my present.
(My photo).
I finished the 2016-2017 Season as Deputy Candle Technician on ‘The White Devil’ by John Webster and ‘Othello’ by Shakespeare (with a bit of ‘All The Angels’). It was tough, and tiring to learn a new job, a new building, lots of people and of course, the two shows! But the job was everything I hoped it would be and more than that; my enthusiasm at the end had not dimmed at all! I left with a lump in my throat and hoped that I would return.
Summer 2017 was spent as a casual technician once more; turning sets around in the Globe, Theatre Royal Stratford, and the Barbican on the phenomenal ‘The Tempest’ for the RSC.
I returned to the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse to work as a Candle Technician later that summer on the very moving ; ‘Lions and Tigers’
This show still holds the record in my head so far for the most candles used in a show (350+!). Some shows come close but not yet.
Soon after the ‘Winter Selection’ began;
‘Romantics Anonymous’ was an utter delight to work on and makes me feel all warm and Christmassy. A show that everyone seemed to adore and I knew people who came to see it many times!
‘The Secret Theatre’ followed – a tough show but so very good. Then ‘Meow Meow’ came to do her show ‘Crisis Is Born’ which was hilarious and backstage we watched entraptured every night! It was a privilege to spray snow in her face every night.
In the new year came ‘All’s Well That End’s Well’ – a difficult play to stage but the reviews were good. That was paired with ‘The Captive Queen’ which was gentle to work on but such lovely people:
We ended with the return of the touring ‘Little Matchgirl’
Heartbreaking, alarming in places (carrying off a flaming dustbin to the wings!) but fun and funny to enjoy the audiences. Anarchic cast but so friendly.
This was paired with the beautiful Vivaldi’s ‘The Four Seasons’ puppet show.
(My photo).
So it came to the summer of 2018 and I realised another dream. A dream that had been with me since I used to look across the river at it. The dream of working on a show at Shakespeare’s Globe itself. That summer, with the best Stage Management colleagues I could ask for, I went into The Globe with ‘Othello’.
It has been a while since I have done one of these summaries of my life in the backstages of theatres. My second full year of theatre came to a close by returning to Hackney Empire for ‘Jack and The Beanstalk’.
I laughed, I danced, I blasted the stage with dry ice (awesome), I got covered in glitter and confetti (as usual) and spent time with wonderful people. It felt like coming home. Even when, as below, I was under the trap door, with the beanstalk, looking up at the moon. There were days of sadness as well, but that was because I was so tired, so wound up from touring and other personal things. But it was a good one.
(my photograph)
Early on in 2016 I got to realise a dream. Working with ‘Secret Cinema‘. As it happened, it was on a film I adore: Doctor Strangelove (or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb).
A marvellous cast, an unforgettable experience. Would do it again in a heartbeat.
From one immersive show I went into another. Where nightmares come to life, in ‘Goosebumps ALIVE’
An immersive promenade piece, where various tales from R.L Stine’s work came to life. I spent a summer crouched on top of a lift, where every 4 minutes I clawed at people’s faces. Met some wonderful friends as a result.
In the summer I tried to see friend’s shows and catch up with people. I set up the most insane show I have ever experienced. I sat in the dress rehearsal. 45 mins that felt like 2. Incredible.
From one immersive show to an immersive dining experience! The revolting, daring ‘Dinner at the Twit’s’.
We terrorised, we feasted, we drank way way too much wine and killed ourselves over and over again. But I made a new friend:
(my photo)
Then I took a break and went to Rome.
Then over Christmas I got a credit I longed for, ‘followspot operator on a pantomime’. ‘Aladdin’
(photo by James Spicer of ‘Inside Croydon’: https://insidecroydon.com/2016/12/15/waddon-gets-a-panto-more-polished-than-aladdins-lamp/)
So very very tired I finished out the year on a pantomime as I began and looked forward to 2017. That was when things really lit up.
It’s been a while since I blogged about the my work in the Theatre. Suffice to say that has been because I have been quite busy.
When last I spoke I was about to journey down the Rabbit hole into ‘Alice’s Adventures Underground’. I spent roughly 6 months in Wonderland and while there was good and bad days it was a profound experience that forged a friendship group that is still pretty tight. Perhaps it was because we all went mad, drank too much or didn’t see the sun but there was some form of fellowship forged in those Vaults. We spent almost every day and night together.
When it was over in August we all shot off into new projects but slowly as winter came around we began to bump into each other again and soon there were parties and gatherings. Being a Wonderland veteran means a lot to me. I loved my time in Wonderland. The production, of course returns to The Vaults next year!
What project did I rush off into in September 2015? I went straight into rehearsal and soon after on tour with the new musical ‘The Silver Sword’.
An actor prepares
Credit: Robert Day
My constant companion, the faithful dog ‘Ludwig’ kept me company in the wings! The cast were the most talented group of actor/musicians you could meet. Touring however, can be extremely tough – long days and nights on little sleep. I am now an expert on what is and isn’t sleep having ‘slept’ on tour buses, trains and coaches. I learnt a heck of alot though and grew in my experience and skills as an ASM.
When I came back, on little rest I went back to where I got started, my home base theatre, the glorious Hackney Empire for Jack and the Beanstalk ! It was like coming home and what a most wonderful ensemble to work with! I also had the pleasure once again to blast dry ice across the stage 😀
So I finished 2015 in a glittery daze from pantomime and settled down to doing my tax return. 2016 has had some amazing adventures so far. I look forward to telling you all about them!
My review of ‘A First Class Death’ at the Vaults Festival is now live on Remotegoat here
If you enjoy challenging, engaging promenade performances which make you reflect during the performance and after then you may enjoy taking the next available train to A First Class Death.
This exploration of the subject of death is framed by the grand re-opening of the London Necropolis railway. The audience goes on a guided tour of the surrounding area, where the fascinating history of the real railway is explained. They learn that the railway was first opened in 1854 to transport the dead and mourners to funerals at Brookwood cemetery in Surrey and how it came to be and close. During the tour however, the audience gets the feeling that not everything is as it seems.
Following the tour the audience enter the dank and cavernous Vaults beneath the railway lines of Waterloo station. Audience members then take part in various activities designed to make them consider aspects of death, funerals and their legacy. The Vaults ‘cavern’ space, providing a subterranean feel is ideal for this kind of contemplation, complemented well by the lighting and sound design. As the trains rumbled overhead like a giant heartbeat the production climaxes with a poignant and melancholic finale.
If all this sounds morbid or depressing, it isn’t, but it does challenge the audience to consider morbid subjects. Subjects such as inheritance and power of attorney are actually handled in a very gentle and upbeat way by the cast and the experience I had was actually very funny (but then I enjoy gallows humour). Observing fellow audience members engage in the activities is fascinating as one sees attitudes and opinions that are not often discussed openly or one might learn things about those people who you came with that you never knew. It can also be an opportunity for reflection about one’s own mortality and legacy.
Given the macabre subject and the need to create an air of mystery about the show, some aspects of the production built suspense and as a result, there was an air of tension throughout which was never released. This could prevent audience members from feeling comfortable enough to engage and is clearly unintentional as Jason Hall’s aim is to provide an uplifting, existential experience for the audience which I feel certain some audience members felt.
As is often the case with promenade performances, the cast want engagement and the more the audience goes with it, the more likely they are to get something out of it. The cast are well briefed, each having a strong character to interact with and welcoming it. Having said that, when tackling such a sensitive subject all individual audience members have different thresholds of engagement or bounds of taste so Baseless fabric have tried to balance these sensitive feelings and for the most part they succeeded.
So get a ticket, take the train if you are prepared to engage, learn some fascinating history and be challenged to genuinely reflect upon (and laugh about) your own mortality.
Details about the production (and to book tickets for the short run) can be found here
A big thank you to Everwalker for coming with me and for her thoughts and opinions.
Writing this review has reminded me that I need to post a blog about my own opinions on reviewing as a writing style. It is unlikely to be framed as ‘advice’, more of a statement of intent and what to expect from me as a reviewer. So keep an eye out for that soon!
I thought I would pause to reflect on the past year and the many projects I have undertaken. I have taken many opportunities this year, made some more contacts and widened my experience.
Following the end of my term as ‘Director of Plot’ for a Live Action Roleplay system in August 2012, the weekend after the bank holiday was a cultural event as part of the Olympiad. The event was a secret circus; a mostly unannounced takeover of Regents Street and Piccadilly Circus. I was on a stage of mostly trapeze artists, with a youth circus as well. The above picture was this crazy French circus group who threw themselves around so much one of them broke his ankle in rehearsals.
Shortly after that I worked a few shifts on the superb ‘You Me Bum Bum train’. I cannot take much credit for the phenomenal efforts of the production but I was really glad to just be a small part of it. I can’t say too much about it either but it was a fantastic production.
After that I worked on my first musical, ‘RENT’ at the Cockpit theatre operating lights from a Strand 300. This is how I became involved with Interval Productions.
From there I went to CityLit where I worked on the incomparable ‘Dreamplay’ by August Strinberg and adapted by Carol Churchill. A fascinating play so layered with meaning that summoned my inner director and gave me the desire to direct it myself some day.
Shortly after that I returned to Interval and the Cockpit to work on the powerful and important ‘Streets Project’.
(Darren Bell)
‘The Streets’ was a compelling tale of people on the ‘bottom broken rung’ of the ladder in London at the time of the riots. Others had attempted to cover this subject but this one hit the nail on the head. It got nominated for writing and best new musical at the ‘OffwestEnd’ awards so I was proud to be a part of it. Working in theatre, you always hope that you can be proud of what you do and that the work is significant. I think that everyone involved with ‘Streets’ feels that it is special.
Imagine how delighted we were then that we got to stage it for one day at Hackney Empire in June 2013! A one day showcase that drained us all but was incredible to be part of.
As autumn came I was invited to work on ‘Another Way’ with Interval. In many ways a reaction to the harsh reality of ‘Streets’ this charming musical was about the joy of making people happy. Again, this was nominated for awards and was a pleasure to be a part of.
(Darren Bell)
Finally, I finished 2013 with the pantomime at Hackney Empire, ‘Puss, IN BOOTS DEM’ which I loved from start to finish (all 63 shows worth!)
This weekend is the retrospective celebration for Interval Productions; ‘Interval so far’ (http://thecockpit.org.uk/show/interval_so_far) which I can’t wait for because I will get to see so many of the wonderful and lovely people I have worked with over the past year and a bit. It feels a bit like a ‘greatest hits’ but with the thought that the next chapter is beginning. Now I look to the future and what shows 2014 will bring. I just hope that I get to meet even more wonderful people and get to work on more wonderful shows in the industry that I love with everything I am.
Dress me in black, live in the dark and I would not rather be anywhere else.
If you like irreverent music hall comedy mixed with radio detectives tales told using witty wordplay and a dash of satire The Misfits of London is for you. Squeezed into 45 minutes is the hilarious tale of an alternative post-war radio drama and those who make it.
Anthony Carruthers, played by a sharp-suited and moustached Nicholas Cowell is the writer of a radio comedy-drama which is hoping to get a new series at the BBC. With their leading lady injured, the hopeful Phllis Ingleby (Sophia Sivan) steps in and the cast and crew give a performance of the detective story to the executives. What follows is intelligent, witty and hilarious.
The audience are treated to a feast of voice acting. The comedy duo of Arthur (Robert Blackwood) and Fred (Gareth Davies) trade banter with speed and agility, as well as doing justice to a Cole Porter Classic ‘You’re the top’. Sophia Sivan as Phyllis is a wonder as the sweet English rose who changes voices and demeanour with ease during the radio drama. The supporting cast are just as impressive; Laura Rugg rushes about as the perfectionist producer Beryl. But it is Georges who stands out, played with a touch of melancholy by Ben Cutler. The mute foley artist makes the audience smile with his presence (even when they don’t fully notice him doing the sound effects of the radio play). It is credit to Lucy Appleby’s direction that all the characters gel so well, they all come across as so lovable and the energy of the production crackles and pops.
Blackwood and the sketch group from whom this production was born are clearly fans of 1940s Britain; the script is laced not only with historical references, riffs in the humour and attitudes of the time but also satire of the modern day. Blackwood also plays themes against type, juxtaposing modern alternative comedy against post-war humour, stereotypes and history for comic effect. For the most part this is excellent but while the satire is very welcome and fits it is a little on the nose.
But any rough edges are smoothed over seamlessly by the energy of the cast and the quick witted wordplay. It is these elements that make this show a joy to watch. It is a delightfully clever idea to stage a radio play in a lunchtime theatre because the audience gets the whole detective story, plus the drama of the meta-plot of the radio cast and a musical number. You won’t regret spending your lunchtime with The Misfits of London.
My review of ‘Behind the Garden Wall’ at the Courtyard Theatre is up on ‘Remotegoat’
“Behind the Garden Wall is a claustrophobic, intense, gloomy study of the Brontë’s, their lives and seeks the source of their inspiration.
This is a studio piece so still rough around the edges, but for such gothic subject matter that is apt. The audience enters past the cast in situ as tableaus of the family which are often re-framed during the play. The play opens with poetic lines from each of the siblings, while Patrick Brontë (a frail yet patriarchal Marcus McMahon) gives biographical detail about how they came to live in a parsonage Behind the Garden Wall from his desire to shelter them from the strife of the world. Charlotte, Emily, Anne and Branwell seek to find a place in the world, having been separate from it for so long, after the deaths of their two elder sisters. Here we get to the beating heart of the piece, where the portrayal of each of the siblings is unique and convincing. India Martin as Charlotte draws in the audience with a strong performance of sincerity, earnestness and unrequited desire. Amy Christina Murray bares the heart and soul of Emily on stage, her every move is shot through with Emily’s passion, creativity and angst. In contrast to her is the starkly-lit, Ruby Padwick whose spiritual Anne holds tension and worry. Jack Smithson pounds the stage as Branwell, his melancholia hovering like a cloud wherever he goes. The direction uses the intimate space well and haunts the audience; strong eye contact pulls the audience roughly into the play and there are good moments where the action pauses; where the audience can see the emotions play across the faces of the characters, providing both a breather from the drama and a stretching of tension. Some may find that the subject is too heavy and gothic without much relief but fans of the Brontë’s work will expect this and enjoy the way Farren Morgan has woven details from their lives and novels into the tale.
The lighting design expands and contracts the space, giving sharp lines, then painting with broad strokes to create effects such as the looming shadow of Branwell over the family’s fortunes. It is an impressive design, so essential to such a small space. Use of projection, while giving some more flair to some scenes felt either underused or unnecessary. Indeed its absence from the second act went unnoticed. But being a studio piece, one forgives these rough edges.
The play walks a confident line between the heavy drama of the lives of the Brontë’s and their work avoiding collapsing into melodrama. However, because the feelings hang so heavy, the biographical detail sometimes gets lost. While the characters and their emotions are well expressed and understood by the audience, a sense of wider context beyond the garden wall and the theatre is unexplored. It is a powerful script that draws in everyone in the space through strong performances from all the cast and good design; it will be interesting to see what they do next.”
June 22, 2022
pjcarrington
RENT
cupboardelephant 