Tag Archives: Exeter Alternative Theatre

A Dark Victorian Cabaret – Exeter Alternative Theatre

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Halloween isn’t complete without a fresh offering from the Exeter Alternative Theatre. This year they present ‘A Dark Victorian Cabaret’ which is considered the company’s most ambitious project to date.

It may seem tedious that every year I describe the atmosphere of stepping into the auditorium as being like stepping back in time, but there is something about the way they dress the Barnfield Theatre that makes their production feel like a complete experience of a specific time and place rather than simply going to watch a play.

As the group have grown in confidence so they have presented more original performance. They have had a taste of what interests them from the scripts of others and have spent a lot of time and energy devising their own work to present. The night busily bursts with good ideas, lifting the scariest and sexiest sections of Dracula and the story of Jack the Ripper and mixed in with a seance and the story they really want to tell, the opening of the Theatre Royal, Exeter on Monday 7 October 1889, two years after the theatre on the same site was lost to fire.


There are lovely sinister creations through the night, with Midge Mullin as John Acland in Phil Kingslan John’s ‘Before Dracula’ a highlight in a short yet funny sketch early in the evening. Mullin then takes a writing credit alongside Rosie Mullin for ‘And Then There Was One’ where Ben Rodwell gives a memorable portrayal as John Sanders, a physician restrained as a suspect for the Jack the Ripper killings, here some nice lighting and cunning use of silhouette allows Louis Ravensfield as the narrator to reveal a poetic imagining of the men behind the killings. In turn it is Louis Ravensfield that writes and directs ‘Miss Johnson’s Seance’, the scariest play of the night, giving the audience a ringside seat with some proper jumpy moments as Morwenna Griffith capably leads the action as the haunting Miss Johnson.

Between the plays there is much to entertain, titillate and spook, with a range of cabaret covered from The Phantom Juggler to The Living Doll, these acts brought smiles, laughter and just the right amount of creepiness. There was a song from Kitty Brunel and some fascinating performance from Lilly Laudanum as the sauciest Queen Victoria you’ll see on stage and Venus Noir presenting an absinthe fairy like no other. Top and tail your night with a Can-Can from The Flaming Feathers and you get a sense that the drama is a sideshow to the range of performance these producers imagine.

There were two linking narratives to guide the audience through the night. Firstly, Jon Lee as the Master of Ceremonies bringing plenty of pomp to the evening, encouraging the audience to take part in the performance. Secondly there was the story of ‘The Chorus Girls’ written by Emma Ravensfield and directed by Sharlene Young, presented the story of life in the dressing room at the Theatre Royal on opening night. Their story joined seamlessly with the acts around them as a number of sequences were dispersed through the evening.

The girls, played by Katie Jones, Carolyn Macey and Sarah Prentice, allowed an intriguing sense of voyeurism on the night, as we watched them prepare for a performance we will never see. They exchange stories of life in the theatre, and their private conversations provide a clever introduction to the act that follows.

It may be that I am showing ignorance of how things were back in the day, but my one grumble of the night was the lengthy blackouts between acts. A spotlight on the MC giving a bit of bluster from the side of the stage might have tightened up the scene changes and allowed the evening to flow more tidily than the gaps provided, instead we sat through a set dressing, then an introduction, then a performance – no doubt the pace of these changes will quicken up as they build to the final performance.

Even this cannot impact on the quality of the various performances, there was something for everyone who likes a bit of darkness from the theatre, a resounding success for the production team. The Exeter Alternative Theatre continue to lead the way in thrilling performance with a taste of the macabre. The Dark Victorian Cabaret continues at the Barnfield Theatre until Saturday 3 November 2012.

For more information visit: www.eattheatre.co.uk

Last review for Exeter Alternative Theatre: Grand Guignol

Grand Guignol – Exeter Alternative Theatre

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With Halloween fast approaching, where better to turn than the Theatre du Grand Guignol, where horror and perversion was once the order of the day. Exeter Alternative Theatre return to Exeter’s Barnfield to present three short plays that give different twists on the style. Performing on 28, 29 and 31 October 2011, this is a rare chance to have a taste of the bizarre and macabre on the local stage.

The evening opened with a clear warning of what we were to experience, and the Barnfield Theatre was the perfect location in one of those rare moments where the presentation made you feel like you were stepping back in time.

The Torture Garden by Pierre Chaine and Andre de Lorde in a translation by Richard J Hand and Michael Wilson was the first chapter of the night, directed by Geoff Nicholson. This production is itself adapted from the 1899 novel by Octave Mirbeau. It is a tale that takes the audience on a boat to China, where a haunted young lady captivates all on the ship on a journey that ends in a mixture of murder and lust. Once the story reaches the mainland, the Westerners find themselves in the middle of political intrigue and double dealing, where torture is not confined to the prison grounds.

For lulling the audience into a false sense of security, John Ormond and Larry Blackshaw are to be commended for performances as Muller and Smithson, two men on the voyage who set the scene splendidly. Together with the Captain of the ship, played by Malcolme Littler, a mystery was established in the form of passenger, Mrs Clara Watson.

Elisabeth Bennett gave a haunting performance as Mrs Watson, as she seduces everything she comes into contact with. Together with Al Wadlan as Jean Marchal, they were a central couple that dragged the audience through murder, sex, madness and physical brutality.

Once off the ship the only calm came from Louis Ravenfield as Han, whose measured menace left you doubting the motivations of everybody, as he encourages Mrs Watson to visit the Torture Garden, despite knowing the effect it will have, then asking her to betray Marchal as she has others in the past.

Highlights included Sarah Prentice as Annie, a girl locked up at Mrs Watson’s behest, with a suggestion she was mad when appearances suggested otherwise. Appearances can be deceptive and Prentice delivers the most horrific breakdown of the night. In terms of horror, Kate Copley’s performance as Ti-Bah set the tone for physical and sexual abuse playing both sides of torture leading to a devastating conclusion.

Lighting and special effects were well handled during scene of graphic abuse. It was uncomfortable viewing, but that’s really the point, and the power of the closing is strengthened by the normality of the opening scenes.

The second chapter of the evening was The Weekend Cottage by Frederick Witney and directed by Jac Bevan. This script came from the 1940s London revival of Grand Guignol, and for the Jolly Lion, was the most effective of the evening’s three offerings.

A four-handed one act play opened with Laura, played by Nicky Crew, preparing for the arrival of her lover for a dirty weekend. Instead she finds Butch and Nobby, played by Mark Chawner and Leigh Steedman, turning up to disrupt her plans and eat the meal she has prepared. As they start to take more and more, events grow more sinister, until Arthur, played by Louis Ravensfield, arrives to find Nobby, rather than Laura, greeting him with a smile.

The piece had a beautifully dressed set, with fine dark comic performances from Chawner and Steedman. In particular, the way Steedman paced the set fiddling with furniture, eating and drinking was a clever distraction from what we knew was going on in the other room. Perfect pace and great characters, with nice use of lighting and sound when weapons were used. Not everyone gets out alive, and you are left wanting to know what happens next.

The final chapter of the night was a home grown affair, written and directed by EAT members Rosie and Midge Mullin, An Eye For An Eye, is the result of a challenge thrown down by the group after their 2010 Grand Guignol presentation. Could somebody within the group create something to add to the 2011 playbill?

A striking opening as a masked figure danced before some lighting that cast a magnificent shadow up to the ceiling of the Barnfield to the sound of African tribal rhythms. Immediately, a new location was again established, with a tone for the mystery and horror behind the third play.

Professor Alistair Rodwell, played by Ben Rodwell, is an anthropologist who has cut short his studies of an African tribe to return to England. One of his team, Tom Sullivan, played by Mike Gilpin, is marrying Rodwell’s daughter Lizzie, played by Elisabeth Bennett. His father insists that she wear her mother’s ring, but at the wedding the provenance of the ring is thrown into question. As Rodwell is taken ill, so Sullivan tries to uncover the truth of the origins of the stone in the ring, wanting to return to the African tribe to complete Rodwell’s studies.

A story of theft, distrust and the supernatural, there are some fine set pieces including a scene of childbirth performed in silhouette, and a few beams of light that cast across Rodwell after he has dug through the walls to try to find the source of the noises that trouble him. Another haunting ending and a frightening conclusion to the evening.

Exeter Alternative Theatre remain a group clear in what they want to achieve and working hard to achieve it. The creativity here is fascinating, and the ability to shock and surprise only grows with each performance. As a celebration of Grand Guignol, this presentation felt like a journey back in time.

For the Jolly Lion this was a welcome break from Agatha Christie and the safe comedies of the amateur world. Happy Halloween.

For more information visit: www.eattheatre.co.uk

Last review from EAT:

Quills – Exeter Alternative Theatre

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The Exeter Alternative Theatre are looking to build on the success of their first production last autumn with a presentation of Doug Wright’s twist on the dying days of the Marquis de Sade, ‘Quills’. Performed at the Barnfield Theatre, Exeter for three nights from the 20 to 22 July 2011 this is a production not to be missed.

Any group setting themselves up as alternative will always be looking for an edge, but under the direction of Sarah White and Chloe Whittaker, this is a show with warning flagged up from the start. Beware male nudity, beware strobe lighting, but don’t be fooled into thinking that this group are looking to be different for the sake of it. This production does not go beyond the script to shock. Whilst the text conjures the shocking images – the alternative here is the side-step into another world.

If the Marquis de Sade lived in the world of Mervyn Peake, his life would look like this. The costumes, make up and lighting brought you straight into a world where you could expect Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter to stroll in at any moment. Historical accuracy went out the window with the script, and it has always been accepted that ‘Quills’ is a re-imagining of events, so the decision to take this production another step out of reality was a triumph.

The foundations are laid by Louis Ravensfield as Dr Royer-Collard and Ben Rodwell as Monsieur Prouix, as they set the scene both in the asylum and the Doctor’s personal life. Interest increases with the arrival of the Marquess, played by Renée Pélagie who sets out concerns that her husband has been writing pornography from the asylum. As she strikes a bargain with the Doctor, the anticipation was building towards the reveal of the Marquis.

We are introduced to the Abbe De Coulmier, played by Mike Gilpin, who gives the most subtle performance of the first act. Always paired with a stronger character as he brings his soft approach to mental health compared to the glory days the Doctor recalls of blood and torture. Although there are opposing points of view as to how best to run the asylum, this is not a play that questions how best to deal with the patients, nor is it a judgement on the work of the Marquis. Instead, we really see an examination on the impact the dark writings have on society.

And so enters the Marquis, played by Midge Mullin, a stunning performance, owning the stage from his first entrance, from flamboyant and colourful to the helpless figure stripped of everything. As his world grows darker so too does the stage. He begins jubilant and saucy whilst keeping a quiet menace in all his dealings with the Abbe.

We are shown how the Marquis is loved through the eyes of Madeleine Leclerc, a worker in the asylum laundry who is seduced by the writing, brought to life by Victoria Jones with some chaste flirting and the ambiguity of her relationship with the Abbe who always comes to her rescue.

Yet the most powerful performance in this production does not come from any of these main characters. Here it is the scenery that speaks loudest, in the form of a chorus of inmates at the asylum. Sat rocking, stretching, rubbing wounds and constantly watchable. Brought to the front of the stage at times of darkness and death they move as individuals and as one they are something you do not see on the amateur stage every day. Most notably this was a creative addition because so many people wanted to be involved in the production as there is no chorus in Doug Wright’s script. They added so much to the atmosphere throughout, from their awkward entrance crawling onto the stage to what seemed like a physical representation of the Abbe’s conscience as he was haunted by his actions. A triumph.

Although I have made much of the darkness, there was plenty of humour to be found through the evening. Amusing lines are spread between the cast, but the comic turn of the night fell to Sorrel Meechan as Madam Royer-Collard as she runs away with Monsieur Prioux in a steamy whip-cracking cameo.

With the Doctor and the Abbe at loggerheads in the second act as the Abbe’s mental health deteriorates and the Marquis writes in metaphor, as an audience we are invited to look within at where we find our own titillation – is it the creators or the consumers to blame? In the second half Gilpin’s performance grows to a wild conclusion with plenty of implied body horror.

As films like the Saw franchise and Hostel tales grow increasingly popular, the market for Sade’s style remains. Perhaps an alternative subject matter for a night out, but tastefully handled.

If this is the future of amateur theatre – count me in.

For more information visit: www.eattheatre.co.uk or www.barnfieldtheatre.org.uk