FESTIVAL THEATRE | Previews
A TALE OF TWO CITIES: BLOOD FOR BLOOD Ambitious reworking of Charles Dickens’ epic novel
Having established himself as a fearless and provocative director through his company Red Shift, Jonathan Holloway’s collaboration with Hong Kong’s Chung Ying is an ambitious adaptation of Charles Dickens’ epic A Tale of Two Cities. With a set composed of 80 empty chairs, Holloway’s vision is both spectacular and intimate.
Despite the scale of the staging, Holloway imagines A Tale of Two Cities as ‘less about epic narrative, and more about love and loss – essentially the bereavement of the Defarges and Carton’s obsessive desire for Lucie Manette, which leads him to sacrificing his life’.
Yet this story is placed within a grand context through the symbolism of the empty chairs: ‘Every empty chair implies a missing person, consumed by revolution, suicide, disease, accident,’ he explains. ‘The rigid layout means the actors have to negotiate the rows of chairs, which are to some degree a constant impediment.’ The previous collaboration between Chung Ying and
Holloway, Jekyll and Hyde, consciously incorporated music and a youthful dynamism to challenge the traditional ‘respectful’ approach to adapting classic texts. Holloway’s direction also reveals his appreciation of theatre’s power to move. ‘I don’t understand it when theatre-makers talk disparagingly about emotional manipulation,’ he says. ‘I’m an entertainer.’ In a Fringe environment, where performance is often
presented with minimal spectacle, Blood for Blood offers an example of large scale drama, which combines a passion for storytelling and a belief in the transcendental nature of performance itself. (Gareth K Vile) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 6–28 Aug (not 10, 17, 24), 2.40pm, £12–£13 (£11–£12). Previews 3–5 Aug, £6.
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DENTON AND ME Autobiography meets an overlooked icon MULE Imaginative angle on Peru Two drug story
POENA 5X1 Provocative and political Scandi-noir thriller
Denton and Me blends the 1940s with a modern day autobiography, exploring the relationship between performer Sam Rowe and writer Denton Welch (1915–1948). Playwright Rowe came across Welch’s journals in 2011 and recognised echoes of his own life within them, using Welch’s obsession for land-boy Eric in 1944 to parallel his own adventures, and sense of isolation, in contemporary London. Rowe remembers being ‘blown away’ by Denton’s
writing when he first read the diaries, and praises the way they reflect the ‘underlining continuing relevance of Welch’s emotional and psychological insights today’. Denton Welch was formally trained as a painter but was just as talented a writer. A fascinating figure in queer and literary history, he was a favourite of both Alan Bennett and William S Burroughs. He struggled with ill health following a tragic car accident, and died aged only 33. This multi-layered production promises to be a
powerful exploration of the vulnerability uncovered in Welch’s writing, a journey into how modern life can be reflected in the past and a poignant adaptation of the journals’ intensity. (Adeline Amar) ■ Summerhall, 560 1581, 5–28 Aug (not 15, 22), 3.05pm, £12 (£10). Previews 3 & 4 Aug, £8.
96 THE LIST FESTIVAL 4–11 Aug 2016
Mule is a new play by award-winning writer Kat Woods, focusing on the infamous Peru Two, Michaella McCollum and Melissa Reid. Arrested for drug smuggling and locked up in a South American prison in 2013, they were vilified in the press. Woods’ script asks difficult questions: why do we judge others so quickly and what if it was your partner, your sister or your mother? The play steps away from harsh judgement and takes a more sympathetic view. ‘I had read some rather nasty things about the pair and it got me thinking,’ says Woods. ‘My gut feeling has always been that they made a mistake, one that they will pay for for the rest of their lives.’
An early interest in sociology perhaps encouraged
Woods’ attempt to understand the context surrounding the treatment of the pair, and challenge the easy assumptions that led to their demonisation. Yet she is not interested in merely presenting her perspective. ‘I want the audience, especially in this particular case, to think about their actions’ says Woods. With the Peru Two back in the news, Mule offers a timely, imaginative and emotive angle on the story behind the headlines. (Alex Eades) ■ Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, 6–29 Aug (not 17), 1.30pm, £10–£11 (£8). Previews 3–5 Aug, £5.
Premiering at the Fringe, this one-woman show is written by award-winning Abbie Spallen (Pumpgirl, Lally the Scut). Poena 5X1, or How I Came to Agree with Right-Wing Thinking, is the story of Bryony Adams, an idealistic government scientist working to tackle the crippling issue of prison overcrowding with a new, humane form of punishment.
Director Robert Shaw is cautious about giving away too much about this Scandi-noir thriller. ‘It’s provocative; some people might find it controversial. I wanted it to speak to some of the big issues facing our world today in a way that’s intelligent, dramatic and contemporary.’
Shaw, founder of theatre company Inside
Intelligence, feels privileged to have commissioned new work from Spallen. ‘She has an uncompromising vision, based on a razor sharp and unflinching view of the world around her. Her work is deeply humane, thought-provoking and also very funny.’ Poena 5X1 also boasts specially commissioned
music from twice Grammy-nominated composer Tarik O’Regan. ‘It’s contemporary and has tremendous beauty. He’s a truly original artist’. (Rowena McIntosh) ■ Underbelly Med Quad, 0844 545 8252, 6–29 Aug (not 17), 3.20pm, £9–£11 (£8–£10). Previews 3–5 Aug, £6.