This Last Tempest preview @ Contact 26-27.10.15

Contact Theatre is one of the most innovative theatres in the North West, consistently presenting creative works that are thought provoking, outspoken and daring. Productions presented at Contact often cross art forms, creating wonderful and wacky hybrids. This summer I experienced Sensored, a day of creative events that merged sound, smell, texture, music, dance and theatre; this multi-art-form approach allowed something really powerful to come through and was a fantastic insight to Contact's creative amplitude. So it's safe to say that Contact is the perfect venue to host the upcoming collaborative project This Last Tempest. 

On hearing the title, some readers may have immediately thought of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, which they would be correct to do so. However This Last Tempest is a sequel and radical taken on the Shakespearean classic, that is equally accessible to audiences familiar and new to Shakespeare. Created by producing organisation Fuel and internationally acclaimed theatre company Uninvited Guests, this show fits perfectly with Contact’s innovative programming, promising an experience which is part theatre part gig. 

Beginning where Shakespeare left off, Ariel and Caliban are left alone on an enchanted island as Prospero's ship sails over the horizon and out of sight. In the hours that follow spawns a spectacle of magic where the spirit and creature weave unheard versions of the story, and conjure up what we mortals thought impossible; a world where humans are monsters and inanimate things come to life. 

With a an already stunningly visual play as its inspiration, this immersive experience is set to be like no other with an atmospheric soundscape by composer and musician Neil Johnson creating a strange but familiar world for both characters and audience. The concept of the piece is refreshingly simple, but one which removes limitations and enables the creative team to demonstrate their overwhelming creative ability.

The play has a strong key theme of freedom and questions the notion of utopia. We have all done it, where we hope for a better tomorrow or have the belief that a different time and place would bring us happiness; This Last Tempest explores what happens when one finally gets what they have been yearning for and maybe the grass isn't always greener. Although it would be easy for the audience to draw political parallels the company aim to empower their audiences to create their own meaning.  

Uninvited Guests are a company of national and international acclaim, melding the lines of theatre and social festivities to provoke and stimulate their audiences to think about the world around them and the times we live in. This Last Tempest is a brilliant example of these aims, which I urge you to take in while you have the chance.

This Last Tempest 

Thursday 26 November 8pm
Friday 27 November 8pm
contactmcr.com

Words: Kate Morris

Images: Aerial 3 is by Tom Medwell; This Last Tempest and Ariel in Flight by Ben Pacey

Romeo & Juliet @ Victoria Baths, Manchester, 17.09.14

Set in the archaic beauty of Manchester’s Victoria Baths, Walter Meierjohann’s directorial debut with Romeo and Juliet for HOME’s site-specific season is a sight to behold. Situating the audience in the depths of one of the empty pools, the production successfully immerses them right from the outset with the two opposing families appearing intimidatingly above you from either side of the pool (in a moment somewhat reminiscent of Chicago's iconic Cell Block Tango).

The fact the director has used cinema as stimulus is immediately clear, with abstract moments dispersed amongst the action, heightened characterisation prevalent and an energised use of music throughout (in an homage to director Emir Kusturica). In addition to this the production recalls the modernity of Baz luhrmann’s vibrant film adaptation.

However, what marks Meierjohann’s adaptation out as unique is seeing all of the above and more brought to life before your eyes. A silvery bridge that is raised and lowered, the seductive, strutting, sequined dancers, the leather-drenched revelers, the voyeurism of peering in on an intimate moment – all of these things feel far more powerful when seen up close than they ever could on a cinema screen. The production excellently navigates and embraces the raised stakes and challenges that promenade theatre can offer, asking the audience to travel with the story, to continually commit to the Meierjohann’s world and Shakespeare’s words.

The production is also decidedly youthful – the couple’s age is something that can often be forgotten when reading, but not here. Romeo (Alex Felton) and Juliet (Sara Vickers) are well cast for this: their fresh faces, fashion sense, body language, earnest expressions and unselfconscious emotions depict teenage life perfectly. The result was an emotional intensity, heightened sense of tragedy and feeling for beauty that was perfectly suited to Romeo and Juliet, and was only amplified by the wonderful staging and setting.

Speaking of which, although one could argue that the venue itself is the star attraction – Victoria Baths are a Manchester icon, inherently atmospheric, full of drama, beauty and sorrow – it did not overshadow the stunning decisions that have been made with both design and direction. The euphoria of them soaring the length of the pool on a shared swing without harnesses was positively contagious, and perfectly depicted the elation and risk of falling in love. The echoing expanse of the Gala Pool, reserved solely for the final crypt scene and lit by candles, was truly spectacular and alone makes this production unforgettable.

Romeo and Juliet made my heart soar causing me, as all good theatre should, to reflect on my own experiences, of youth, angst, and love with an added theatricality and beauty on an epic scale. A fantastic first effort from Meierjohann that has me already excited to see what he and his team at HOME will do next.

Words: Megan Griffith

Images: Graeme Cooper

Much Ado About Nothing @ Royal Exchange, 07.04.14

Shakespeare’s well-known romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing comes to Manchester in this new production directed by Maria Aberg. There is much merriment and mirth to welcome Don Pedro (Jason Baughan) and his company to town and Leonata (Marty Cruickshank), the Governor of Messina, is a very accommodating and gracious host. The guests have much to celebrate as they have recently won a great war, so there is dancing and laughter at the masked ball party thrown by Leonata. One of the guests in Don Pedro’s party, the esteemed Claudio (Gerard Kearns of Shameless fame), falls in love with Leonata’s daughter Hero (Becci Gemmell).

This production does well to surprise us and subvert the original male role of Governor Leonato with an impressive female Governor Leonata, as well as appeal to us with a new setting and a new time period. This is post World War Two Italy where the stars of the show are Benedick (a noble soldier in the company of Don Pedro, played by Paul Ready) and Beatrice (Leonata’s niece, played by Ellie Piercy), both of whom are stubborn and strong-minded, and thus the audience revel in the quick-witted retorts between these two charming characters. To the glee of Don Pedro and his company as well as the ladies in the household of Leonata, Benedick and Beatrice indulge in a “skirmish of wit”. Benedick and Beatrice amuse us with the air of nonchalance they attempt to profess, and yet they are so easily tricked. Also to be applauded for their fantastic humorous skits, which lighten the atmosphere, are constable Dogberry (Sandy Foster) and her deputy Verges (Beverly Rudd), for the two policemen are hilarious as they attend to their duties with great sincerity and comedy.

Typical of Shakespeare there is villainy in the form of Don John (Mild Twomey), the recently reconciled brother of Don Pedro who is extremely jealous of “the young start-up” Claudio and will go to lengths to plot the ruin of his chance of happiness. Will Claudio fall for Don Pedro’s vicious traps? Will Benedick and Beatrice fall in love? Will we get a happy Shakespearean ending? You’ll have to go along and find out.

Words: Sadia Habib

Photos: Jonathan Keenan