Gilded Butterflies

Hope Theatre

Reviewed – 8th November 2018

★★

“there was simply not enough here to lift the piece into the realms of truly powerful drama”

Gilded Butterflies is a two-hander, which takes as its focus the plight of a woman prisoner in the US. Inspired by the experience of a Death Row survivor, it aims, as the programme notes explain, ‘to explore what it means to keep an individual’s soul alive in extremely challenging conditions’. The play’s central character – Maggie – is child-like and obviously mentally fragile, and the nature of her crime is such that we are clearly being asked to think about the question of justice for the mentally ill trapped in the American penal system, as well as the taboos surrounding motherhood, and post-natal depression in particular.

The set is stark, consisting of two cell beds, and an occasional grouping of a couple of chairs, and Naomi Baldwin’s sound and lighting design is minimal throughout. Scene changes are signalled by a burst of static white noise, and we occasionally hear (less successfully) the tramp of the prison guards’ feet as they patrol the corridors. The sparsity of the mise-en-scène shines the spotlight on both actors and script, and, despite some excellent work from Francesca McCrohon as Maggie, there was simply not enough here to lift the piece into the realms of truly powerful drama.

Samantha Pain plays three different characters during the course of the piece – a fellow inmate, Maggie’s lawyer, and Maggie’s sister – but, aside from the fact that each woman wears a different jacket, there is no differentiation between these three individuals, either in vocal quality or physicality. Indeed, the physicality felt very under-developed throughout, and it would be interesting to see how much this piece of theatre could grow with the help of a good movement director in the devising process. As it is, it is unclear why Tormented Casserole (the company) have chosen theatre as the medium for this story, when there is so little theatricality in its realisation; it often feels simply like a radio play on its feet.

There are issues with the script too. Aside from a brief moment of vocal frenzy and overlap about half way through the piece, there is precious little pace, tonal or structural variation. There are also moments when the language strays away from the American idiom – no-one in the States would refer to a movie as a film, for example – and these little inconsistencies unfortunately do nothing to help immerse us in this world.

Tormented Casserole have made a serious attempt to tackle some important issues here, but, ultimately, Gilded Butterflies needs an injection of theatre to make it worthy of its stage.

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Rebecca Rayne

Gilded Butterflies

Hope Theatre until 24th November

Previously reviewed at this venue:

My Gay Best Friend | ★★★★★ | January 2018

Foul Pages | ★★★ | February 2018

Moments / Empty Beds | ★★★★ | February 2018

My Evolution of the Cave Painting | ★★★★ | February 2018

Our Big Love Story | ★★ | March 2018

Cream Tea & Incest | ★★★★ | April 2018

Worth a Flutter | ★★ | May 2018

Fat Jewels | ★★★★★ | July 2018

The Dog / The Cat | ★★★★★ | September 2018

The Lesson | ★★★★ | September 2018

Jericho’s Rose | ★★★½ | October 2018

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★★★½

“The musical element of the production is excellent and really complements the movement and dialogue performed”

One grandfather, one granddaughter, originally from Tel Aviv. The grandfather is suffering from Alzheimer’s and can’t seem to remember where home is, whereas the granddaughter’s UK visa is near expiration, meaning she is uncertain of where to call home. Althea Theatre’s Jericho’s Rose explores what happens when two generations struggle to work out where they belong in the world.

When the audience first enters the small performance space, Lilac Yosiphon (performer, as well as writer and co-director) is already on stage. She is walking around the space with a suitcase and passport, as if confused and unsure of her destination. We are immediately engaged and curious as to how her story is going to unfold.

Yosiphon takes on the role of the granddaughter, Jasmine, and grandfather, switching between the two quite seamlessly, with the aid of musical cues and voice recordings of the opposite role. Music is composed and performed by Sam Elwin, who is based at the side of the stage and makes use of loop-pedalled sound. The musical element of the production is excellent and really complements the movement and dialogue performed. As Elwin himself notes, most of the music was composed during rehearsals, allowing him to respond to moments as they occurred, as well as contribute to the generation of new moments.

In terms of movement, Yosiphon never merely walks around the performance space. Her abstract, physical theatre style movements work well and add to the clear sense of bewilderment experienced by both granddaughter and grandfather. Lighting Design and Projection by Will Monks, further adds to this and we, as audience members, can really feel as though we are stepping into the minds of these troubled individuals.

Jericho’s Rose is a fast-paced piece of theatre. Fragmented by nature, you may need to hold concentration more than you would during a more straightforward production, to fully keep track of what is going on and stay engaged. The piece could also most likely be condensed down, whilst still delivering what it has set out to deliver. However, if you want to see something abstract, surprising and delivered by talented performers, you should see Jericho’s Rose.

Reviewed by Emily K Neal

Photography by Lidia Crisafulli

Hope Theatre

Reviewed – 8th November 2018

★★

“there was simply not enough here to lift the piece into the realms of truly powerful drama”

Tormented Casserole have made a serious attempt to tackle some important issues here, but, ultimately, Gilded Butterflies needs an injection of theatre to make it worthy of its stage.

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Rebecca Rayne

Gilded Butterflies

Hope Theatre until 24th November

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Jericho’s Rose

Hope Theatre

Reviewed – 18th October 2018

★★★½

“The musical element of the production is excellent and really complements the movement and dialogue performed”

Reviewed by Emily K Neal

Photography by Lidia Crisafulli

Jericho’s Rose

Hope Theatre until 3rd November

Previously reviewed at this venue: