Tag Archives: Bristol Old Vic

Streaming Beauty

Streaming Beauty

★★★

Online via Bristol Old Vic

Streaming Beauty

Streaming Beauty

Online via Bristol Old Vic

Reviewed – 19th December 2020

★★★

 

“the laughs and cheers throughout were evidence of a job well done”

 

Streaming Beauty is an online interactive adult panto. Hosted by the marvellously named Annette Curtains (Tom Marshman), it asks its Zoom attendees to complete silly festive tasks to help wake the eponymous heroine from her slumber, brought on by ‘fingering a prick’. The overarching tone is tongue-in-cheek queer naughtiness, and the show is peppered throughout with knowing pop culture references, with Hymen Bowel (Lotte Allan) presenting The Sex Factor, Angelina Unholy fetish icon (Peter Baker) and the Artist Formerly Known as Prince Charming (Edson Burton) all featuring. Here, as in real life panto, much depends on the gusto and spirit of the audience. More than any other theatrical form, panto really is what you make it. If you walk into the theatre, or switch on your Zoom, ready to contribute and to have a good night then you will. It says much about the resilience both of the form and the COVID-beseiged British audience that the panto spirit was firmly in evidence last night. Given that much of the show is in Zoom Gallery View format, the audience is quite literally on show as much as the performers, and the families, couples and singletons who were in attendance rose to the challenge admirably.

That being said, it does take an effort of will to supply atmosphere whilst staring at a laptop, and the sad reality is that it is impossible to be unaware of the limitations of the small screen in this most rambunctious theatrical form. Peter Baker and Tom Marshman adapted the most successfully to these strictures, by having an awareness of them and playing with close-ups and the edges of the frame. This is clearly a new-found skill in the actor’s arsenal, and, inevitably, some performers have been better able to take up the challenge than others.

Stephanie Kempson (director) and her company Sharp Teeth are clearly at the cutting edge of online theatre, and this panto comes hot on the heels of their successful online interactive Sherlock Holmes show, which also put the audience into breakout rooms and provided them with tasks to fulfil. Whilst being a natural fit for an immersive detective drama, this structure did feel like something of an imposition on the panto format, and this reviewer did pine for more panto and less escape room, but it seems that mine was the minority view, and the rest of last night’s audience clearly relished the games aspect of the evening. It was a full house last night, with 90 people logged in, and the laughs and cheers throughout were evidence of a job well done.

 

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

 

 

Bristol Old Vic

Streaming Beauty

Online via Bristol Old Vic

 

Recently reviewed by Rebecca:
Fanny & Stella | ★★★★ | The Garden Theatre | August 2020
Antony & Cleopatra | ★★ | Theatro Technis | September 2020
C-o-n-t-a-c-t | ★★★★ | Monument | September 2020
The Tempest | ★★★ | Turk’s Head | September 2020
Living With the Lights On | ★★★★ | Golden Goose Theatre | October 2020
The 39 Steps | ★★★ | The Maltings | October 2020
Visitors | ★★★½ | Online | October 2020
Eating Myself | ★★★★ | Online | November 2020
Myra Dubois: A Problem Shared | ★★★ | Online | November 2020
Pecs: Christmas Queer | ★★★★ | Pleasance Theatre | December 2020

 

Click here to see our most recent reviews

 

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk

★★★★

Online

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk

Bristol Old Vic via bristololdvic.org.uk

Reviewed – 4th December 2020

★★★★

 

“as vibrant as Chagall’s paintings but made more enchanting by the truly endearing performances”

 

Although Marc Chagall is often referred to as the ‘quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century’, Chagall preferred to see himself as representing “not the dream of one people but of all humanity”. A bold claim from one who was raised and immersed in his Jewish culture, but one that is justified. His work transcended the canvas and the artistic movements he helped shape, as he became involved in theatre, set and costume design; even painting the ceiling of the ‘Opéra Garnier’ in Paris. But he is best known for his varied repertoire of images that include melancholy clowns, flying lovers, fiddlers on roofs, circus performers and musicians. They are flights of fancy, which is why a dramatic celebration and portrayal of his life is such an attractive challenge for Emma Rice.

When it opened at the Bristol Old Vic in 2016, “The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk” was Rice’s swansong for ‘Kneehigh’, although her love affair with the show goes back much further. And it is to the Old Vic that it returns, in association with both Kneehigh and ‘Wise Children’. A two-hander, although frequently supplemented by the musicians, it is as vibrant as Chagall’s paintings but made more enchanting by the truly endearing performances from Marc Antolin (as Chagall) and Audrey Brisson as his muse and wife, Bella. Antolin and Brisson together capture both the ecstasy and the cracks in their life together. They are not just flying lovers but fleeing lovers too – escaping the anti-Semitism that swept through Europe. Yet it avoids the panoramic perspective and focuses more on the intricate brush strokes of the lovers’ lives, and the personal sacrifices they make for each other.

The piece is a wonderful amalgam of dialogue, reflection, music and movement; and they all work beautifully together. Daniel Jamieson’s script is peppered with intimate detail that can reveal a lifetime of emotions within a few short words, accentuated by Rice’s inventive staging. Ian Ross’s heart-rending score is a constant undercurrent that bursts to the surface with its leitmotifs; seamlessly taking over when words alone are not enough. Yet it is the central performances of the two actors, and their onstage chemistry, that draw us in. Like Pierrot and Columbine their physicality becomes an extra language, to say nothing of their gorgeous singing voices.

This is a rare gem of a piece of theatre. Seldom does humour and magic sit so comfortably alongside poignancy and heartache. Chagall’s success in Berlin and Paris is shadowed by wartime persecution of the Jews: their culture is celebrated here, but we are also reminded of the fact that we are witnessing a culture that was ravaged. But above all, we are sharing a love story and this show is a celebration of that, as well as the artist. More than uplifting; you can see why these lovers are flying.

 

 

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Steve Tanner

 

Bristol Old Vic

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk

Live broadcasts from Bristol Old Vic until 5th December then streaming from 11th – 18th December via bristololdvic.org.uk

 

Recently reviewed by Jonathan:
The Great Gatsby | ★★★★★ | Immersive LDN | October 2020
The Last Five Years | ★★★★★ | Southwark Playhouse | October 2020
The Off Key | ★★★ | White Bear Theatre | October 2020
What a Carve Up! | ★★★★★ | Online | October 2020
Little Wars | ★★★★ | Online | October 2020
Right Left With Heels | ★★★★ | Online | November 2020
Marry me a Little | ★★★★ | Online | November 2020
Rent | ★★★★★ | Online | November 2020
Falling Stars | ★★★★ | Online | November 2020
Ute Lemper: Rendezvous With Marlene | ★★★★★ | Online | November 2020

 

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