Kneehigh and the Globe. They do suit each other rather well,
actually. Especially when it comes to a production like 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips (which I saw at the matinée
on 28th August 2016).
There’s something about the irreverence and exuberance of
Kneehigh that suits the Globe space. I think perhaps it’s the way we can all
see each other – audience, actors, musicians. The Globe has always encouraged a
sort of conversation between the stage and the yard, and Kneehigh certainly
live up to that in Adolphus Tips.
From remarking on the weather to getting the audience to
sing and dance along – even beyond the performance, to a Q&A session after
the show – the cast of Adolphus Tips
really welcomed the audience as a part of that afternoon’s story.
946: The Amazing Story
of Adolphus Tips is an adaptation of a Michael Morpurgo book. I’ve not read
the book (though I want to now), so I was coming to the story fresh. It’s a
tale of war and displacement – of loss and sadness mingled with joy and love.
There were big laughs and some wonderfully joyful song and dance numbers, but
there were also some profoundly moving moments, and the girl standing next to
me in the yard was sniffing away towards the end.
There are so many bits I want to mention. The puppetry. The
motorbike. The way the sea battle was depicted – it reminded me a little of that
wonderful Bristol Old Vic production of Swallows
and Amazons, but it was also hugely moving. The moment when the cast played
a tune by blowing across the tops of bottles. The touching scene when they all
played recorders. The morris dancing. And of course the entirely unscripted
moment when the heavens opened just as the vicar was lifting his hands to pray.
All of the cast in Adolphus
Tips were talented multi-instrumentalists as well as actors. They sang,
danced, swapped instruments, and operated puppets all with the same energy, and
you couldn’t help being swept along with it all. I couldn’t single anyone out
for praise – they were all brilliant.
And it was nice to see the cast onstage afterwards in an
unexpected (by me, at any rate) Q&A session along with Michael Morpurgo and
Emma Rice. It was a bit like the old Talking Theatre sessions at the Globe (do
they still do those?) but on a larger scale. Michael Morpurgo was very funny, and
it was interesting to hear Emma Rice and Mike Shepherd talk about Kneehigh and
the Globe.
I’ve seen Kneehigh perform at their Asylum down in Cornwall,
and – despite some obvious differences – there is something similar about the
Globe. I love the Globe – it’s one of my favourite spaces. It’s fun to see
Kneehigh here.
Showing posts with label Kneehigh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kneehigh. Show all posts
Monday, 29 August 2016
Friday, 8 July 2016
The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk - Kneehigh
The Flying Lovers of
Vitebsk was a small, intimate piece in the small, intimate setting of the
Globe’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse on 2nd July 2016. Lyrical is the
best word I can think of to describe it.
Every movement in Kneehigh’s Flying Lovers is as carefully choreographed as the words are written. And this flowing movement, combined with the vivid live music, makes for an unusual, charming, and – yes – lyrical piece of theatre.
Just two main cast members, plus musicians, play out this tale of the artist Marc Chagall’s life with his wife Bella. I knew next to nothing about the Chagalls before seeing this. I was not familiar with his work or with hers. But that didn’t matter. Their work, their outward-facing lives, the historical context are all part of The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, but also somehow outside of its gaze.
Above all, this is a tale of two people. Small and intimate. And I found it a very thoughtful exploration of an individual’s creativity, and how that interacts with everyday life, the wider world, and those you are close to.
Some years ago in Cornwall, I saw Kneehigh’s Midnight’s Pumpkin. There was aerial work in that – trapezes and such – and I was sort of expecting something along those lines in The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk. I suppose it would’ve been difficult in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, but it would have been wonderful to see these lovers actually take flight.
As it was, though, the movement was beautiful, and I was smiling almost throughout the whole piece.
Lyrical really is the best word I can think of for it.
Every movement in Kneehigh’s Flying Lovers is as carefully choreographed as the words are written. And this flowing movement, combined with the vivid live music, makes for an unusual, charming, and – yes – lyrical piece of theatre.
Just two main cast members, plus musicians, play out this tale of the artist Marc Chagall’s life with his wife Bella. I knew next to nothing about the Chagalls before seeing this. I was not familiar with his work or with hers. But that didn’t matter. Their work, their outward-facing lives, the historical context are all part of The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, but also somehow outside of its gaze.
Above all, this is a tale of two people. Small and intimate. And I found it a very thoughtful exploration of an individual’s creativity, and how that interacts with everyday life, the wider world, and those you are close to.
Some years ago in Cornwall, I saw Kneehigh’s Midnight’s Pumpkin. There was aerial work in that – trapezes and such – and I was sort of expecting something along those lines in The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk. I suppose it would’ve been difficult in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, but it would have been wonderful to see these lovers actually take flight.
As it was, though, the movement was beautiful, and I was smiling almost throughout the whole piece.
Lyrical really is the best word I can think of for it.
Sunday, 22 May 2016
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Shakespeare's Globe
A new Globe season. The start of the summer. (Only a little
rain). And a new artistic director – with A
Midsummer Night’s Dream the first production under Emma Rice’s leadership,
and also the first production directed by her at the Globe.
She’s come from Kneehigh, and there were some familiar Kneehigh faces in this – particularly Puck (Katy Owen), who was very funny as the young servant Robert in Kneehigh’s wonderful Rebecca last year. She’s equally funny as Puck in this – mischievous, naughty, dangerous and fun, playing gleefully with both the actors and the audience. And Bottom (Ewan Wardrop) was another familiar face from Kneehigh who became an instant Globe favourite.
There were also echoes of Kneehigh’s style in the music, dancing, aerial work, and general air of irreverence in this A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Special mention to the Changeling puppet, which was quite beautiful too.
I can see what this production is intended to be – a riot of fun and colour and wildness. I’m thinking something like a Baz Luhrmann film live, on stage, in the Globe space. But it needed to be pacier to really achieve that wildness. I dare say the pace will pick up as the run goes on.
What worked particularly well were the scenes with the lovers. I really like the male Helena – ‘Helenus’ – the gender switch brought something new to the dynamic. And all four lovers had great chemistry and comic timing. They were recognisably of our world and our time (the Hoxton hipster references went down well, and I enjoyed the Beyoncé dance).
In fact, all the dancing was fabulous – from the fairies’ slightly terrifying moves right through to the joyous Bollywood-inspired jig at the end.
But am I allowed one quibble, as someone who goes to the Globe a fair bit? I know I probably sound like a bore, but I found the amplification of the actors’ speaking voices quite disconcerting. I didn’t mind it for the music, but for the dialogue it seemed unnecessary and took away from the intimacy of the Globe space. When you’re standing in the yard, sometimes actors talk directly to you - or sometimes someone tall is standing in front of you and you can’t see who’s talking, so you rely on your ears to tell you where to crane to look. When their voices are coming from somewhere other than their bodies, neither of those things work.
In a production that was otherwise really proudly physical – with some imaginative and brilliant movement – it seemed strange that the voice was treated as separate from that physicality. The voice is part of the body too.
But hey, that’s a minor quibble. It’s exciting to see new things at the Globe. New ideas, new approaches, new faces. And I really enjoyed A Midsummer Night’s Dream (which I saw at the matinée on 21st May 2016). It was naughty, irreverent, imaginative and fun, and – most importantly for a comedy – it was funny.
I’m looking forward to the rest of the season!
She’s come from Kneehigh, and there were some familiar Kneehigh faces in this – particularly Puck (Katy Owen), who was very funny as the young servant Robert in Kneehigh’s wonderful Rebecca last year. She’s equally funny as Puck in this – mischievous, naughty, dangerous and fun, playing gleefully with both the actors and the audience. And Bottom (Ewan Wardrop) was another familiar face from Kneehigh who became an instant Globe favourite.
There were also echoes of Kneehigh’s style in the music, dancing, aerial work, and general air of irreverence in this A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Special mention to the Changeling puppet, which was quite beautiful too.
I can see what this production is intended to be – a riot of fun and colour and wildness. I’m thinking something like a Baz Luhrmann film live, on stage, in the Globe space. But it needed to be pacier to really achieve that wildness. I dare say the pace will pick up as the run goes on.
What worked particularly well were the scenes with the lovers. I really like the male Helena – ‘Helenus’ – the gender switch brought something new to the dynamic. And all four lovers had great chemistry and comic timing. They were recognisably of our world and our time (the Hoxton hipster references went down well, and I enjoyed the Beyoncé dance).
In fact, all the dancing was fabulous – from the fairies’ slightly terrifying moves right through to the joyous Bollywood-inspired jig at the end.
But am I allowed one quibble, as someone who goes to the Globe a fair bit? I know I probably sound like a bore, but I found the amplification of the actors’ speaking voices quite disconcerting. I didn’t mind it for the music, but for the dialogue it seemed unnecessary and took away from the intimacy of the Globe space. When you’re standing in the yard, sometimes actors talk directly to you - or sometimes someone tall is standing in front of you and you can’t see who’s talking, so you rely on your ears to tell you where to crane to look. When their voices are coming from somewhere other than their bodies, neither of those things work.
In a production that was otherwise really proudly physical – with some imaginative and brilliant movement – it seemed strange that the voice was treated as separate from that physicality. The voice is part of the body too.
But hey, that’s a minor quibble. It’s exciting to see new things at the Globe. New ideas, new approaches, new faces. And I really enjoyed A Midsummer Night’s Dream (which I saw at the matinée on 21st May 2016). It was naughty, irreverent, imaginative and fun, and – most importantly for a comedy – it was funny.
I’m looking forward to the rest of the season!
Sunday, 19 April 2015
Rebecca - Kneehigh
I’ve not read the novel or seen any other adaptations of it,
so I was coming to Rebecca fresh. But
regardless of my knowledge of the book, it’s clear that Kneehigh’s stage production
of Rebecca is a very inventive
adaptation.
As soon as you see the set, you know you’re in for something special. Part grand house in ruins; part seashore; broken staircases running across the stage. And the boat looming centre-stage throughout the first half, reminding us always that Rebecca’s absence is a very real presence in the house.
If any of the audience at Eastbourne’s Devonshire Park Theatre (15th April 2015) was expecting a straight adaptation, with ‘realistic’ sets and the usual period drama tropes, they would have been taken by surprise by Kneehigh’s Rebecca.
This is a much more stylised adaptation. Set, sound, lighting, puppetry and music all combine to tell the tale and draw out the themes. Such as the combination of jazz music on a gramophone and sea shanties being played by the actor-musicians: the clash of the sophisticated and the elemental.
Obviously if you’ve seen Kneehigh before, or know them by reputation, then you know that they’re nothing if not inventive. Rebecca features their trademark music, comedy and playfulness and ties these up in a full on, dark, ambitious production.
I remember seeing Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge in the cinema when it came out, and having to take a moment at the end just to recover from the force of the visual and aural whirlwind that had just swept around me.
I felt a bit like that at the end of Rebecca.
Very much worth seeing.
As soon as you see the set, you know you’re in for something special. Part grand house in ruins; part seashore; broken staircases running across the stage. And the boat looming centre-stage throughout the first half, reminding us always that Rebecca’s absence is a very real presence in the house.
If any of the audience at Eastbourne’s Devonshire Park Theatre (15th April 2015) was expecting a straight adaptation, with ‘realistic’ sets and the usual period drama tropes, they would have been taken by surprise by Kneehigh’s Rebecca.
This is a much more stylised adaptation. Set, sound, lighting, puppetry and music all combine to tell the tale and draw out the themes. Such as the combination of jazz music on a gramophone and sea shanties being played by the actor-musicians: the clash of the sophisticated and the elemental.
Obviously if you’ve seen Kneehigh before, or know them by reputation, then you know that they’re nothing if not inventive. Rebecca features their trademark music, comedy and playfulness and ties these up in a full on, dark, ambitious production.
I remember seeing Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge in the cinema when it came out, and having to take a moment at the end just to recover from the force of the visual and aural whirlwind that had just swept around me.
I felt a bit like that at the end of Rebecca.
Very much worth seeing.
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