Dominica Plummer Archives - Page 50 of 87

★★★

“the best work on stage is by the very capable supporting cast“

The Witchfinder’s Sister, adapted for the stage by Vickie Donoghue from the popular 2017 novel by Beth Underdown, seems like a good choice for Halloween season at the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch. Set in 1645, in nearby Manningtree, Donoghue’s adaptation transports the audience into a deeply troubled time in England, where safe lives and livelihoods are hard to find, and a family’s fortunes can change in a moment. The Civil War is already underway, but more importantly, at least for the unfortunate citizens of Manningtree, so are witch hunts.

Into this world of whispers and neighbours informing on neighbours, comes Alice, newly widowed and pregnant, hoping to find a safe place in her brother Matthew’s house. But the recent death of their mother, and the revelation of family secrets, has left Alice’s brother a changed man. Matthew is a man disfigured by a childhood accident; he is fueled by misogyny, and a desire to find witches that he can name and write in his witch finder’s book. As you might expect, it all goes downhill from there. Donoghue has done her best in adapting this material, though her play is exposition heavy, and moves slowly under the weight of such serious matters. But the problem for any playwright writing about witch hunts is how to acknowledge the giant in the room (in this case, Arthur Miller’s classic The Crucible) without being drawn into direct comparisons. Donoghue manages this with a sly reference to Salem at one point in The Witchfinder’s Sister, but in truth, there is a similarity in the inspiration for these works. Just as Miller was inspired to write his play as a reaction to the “witch hunts” against Communist sympathizers in 1950s America, contemporary Britons may find parallels with “fake news” paranoia, in the whispering neighbours of 1645 Manningtree. Witch hunts aren’t just for Halloween, anymore.

There is a lot to admire about this production at the Queen’s Theatre. It’s a great space for one thing, and the set, lighting and sound designers have the resources they need to show off their work. Libby Watson’s set, Matt Haskins’ lighting design, and Owen Crouch’s sound design set a powerful mood for The Witchfinder’s Sister, and it’s there in the auditorium the moment the audience enters. Once the play begins, however, much of the movement on stage is lost in semi-darkness. While this does sustain the mood, it also places a burden on the audience.

Alice, played by Lily Knight, carries most of this heavy play on her shoulders, but the best work on stage is by the very capable supporting cast, in particular, Anne Odeke, playing Rebecca; Grace, played by Miracle Chance; Bridget, played by Debra Baker, and Jamie-Rose Monk, as Mary. George Kemp, who has recently been making a career of playing brothers on stage, is rather underutilized in the role of Matthew, but The Witchfinder’s Sister is really a play about the women in this story. The men may hold the power in the 1645 world of Manningtree, but in this play, they hold it off stage.

Locals will find visiting the Queen’s Theatre to watch The Witchfinder’s Sister a rewarding experience of neighbourhood history. For those planning a visit from further afield, and without a car, be aware that the District Line may leave you stranded at any point between Barking and Upminster. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say, and that applies just as much to the citizens of Essex in 1645, as it does to contemporary theatre goers in 2021.

Reviewed by Dominica Plummer

Photography by Mark Sepple

Roots

Wilton’s Music Hall

Reviewed – 7th October 2021

★★★★★

“As the audience, we teeter uneasily between outrage and laughter”

1927 is one of those rare, extraordinary, once in a generation companies that comes along to show us how theatre can be done, and how we’ve been doing it wrong all along. Their signature works such as Golem (2014) and now Roots (2019) are a seamless blend of live music and live performance stitched into fantastic animated collages projected onto a screen on an otherwise bare stage. 1927 takes the audience into the moving picture experience—and then opens doors and windows in the movie screen so that a live performer can cheekily poke through and explode the idea that watching anything on a screen is somehow real. Not content with that, 1927 also challenges our notions of what constitutes performance with this blend of live and projected action. Just as important, the narratives performed by this company give our imaginations a real workout as well.

In many ways, Wilton’s Music Hall is the perfect venue for a company like 1927, who generally need just a bare stage, a screen and a space for the performers and musicians to shimmy alongside. Anything else, even elaborate lighting, would be a distraction from the show taking place (mostly) at the back of the stage. But Wilton’s is a stained and faded beauty, with its patchwork walls and ceilings standing in mute and shabby chic testament to its long gone glory days as a Victorian music hall. It is somehow the perfect backdrop for a company that specializes in taking mythic stories from a murky past, and reanimating them, much like a latter day Frankenstein. Everything in Roots, though, is designed not to horrify, but to amuse—and to make us think. In the disturbing stories of cats that eat the world; murine husbands who fall into the stew while their ant wives are working, and ungrateful children who try to shed burdensome parents, there is a sly humour at work, present both in the images projected on the screen, and the actors in their drab but expressive costumes. As the audience, we teeter uneasily between outrage and laughter. Luckily for us, laughter usually wins out. There are faint echoes of music hall humour in all that 1927 presents. Wilton’s brings that out in sharp relief.

Unlike 1927’s Golem, which is a show with one overarching narrative, Roots is a medley of a dozen or so stories “from a simpler time” adapted from the British Library’s Aarne Index—a collection of folktales from around the world. There is no particular theme linking these stories together. 1927 have simply selected those that appealed, and adapted them to suit the instantly recognizable company style. These adaptations are set in a time that could be the 1920s—the costumes hint at that—but jump both forwards and backwards in time as well. The accompanying music is similarly hard to categorize. Clever use of conventional instruments such as violins are playfully augmented, as well as subverted, with the addition of “Peruvian prayer boxes, donkeys jaws…and musical saws.” The eerie sounds produced, once again do not frighten, but heighten, the experience of watching a 1927 show. Roots may disappoint some who go expecting a show with a more conventional approach to storytelling, but veteran viewers of the company’s work will appreciate Roots for what it is: not one mythic story, but many.

There is a consistently talented team at the core of 1927. Susanne Andrade, writer and performer, and Paul Barritt, animator and illustrator, have been working together since 2005. They’ve since been joined by performer and director Esme Appleton, when their trademark style of live performance and animation came into its own. Producer Jo Crowley keeps the company touring around the world. First produced for the Spoleto Festival USA in 2019, Roots now tours showcasing the work of costume designer Sarah Munro, and performers David
Insua-Cao, Francesca Simmons, Genevieve Dunne and Philippa Hambly. The voiceovers for each tale belong to friends and family of the company. Roots is a delicious combination of performance and animation talent working at the top of their game, all wrapped up and delivered in an unmissable show. See it at Wilton’s while you can.

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch

Reviewed – 9th October 2021

★★★

“the best work on stage is by the very capable supporting cast“

Reviewed by Dominica Plummer

Photography by Mark Sepple

The Witchfinder’s Sister

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch until 30th October

Dominica’s other reviews this year:

Wilton’s Music Hall

Reviewed – 7th October 2021

★★★★★

“As the audience, we teeter uneasily between outrage and laughter”

Reviewed by Dominica Plummer

Photography by Leigh Webber

Roots

Wilton’s Music Hall until 30th October

Shows reviewed by Dominica this year: