What's On 16th - 22nd September

Whilst the theatres took the summer off to refresh and refurb, I also had a break and took the chance to bask in the slightly surprising Exeter sunshine.

So with a extended-summer break, lets get back to the culture vulture-ing

Flood - The Bike Shed Theatre

Exploring the great floods of 1960 and 2012 through anecdotes, skits, animation and lessons. As the confluence of three rivers Exeter is ideally suited for flooding. This play looks at both the geographic reasons for flooding and its impact on the population. 

Thursday - Saturday, 7.30pm, with a matinee on Saturday 2pm

Tickets £8-12

(I've seen this and hope to have a review up tomorrow)

This Citys Centre, Part 3, Here, Now - St. Stephens House

An ongoing new arts project exploring our city from a different perspective. Part 1 is a video installation shown at RAMM, part 2 is a explorable map. This part 3 is a live participatory video piece, bring along something from your windowsill. 

Tuesday - Saturday, 7pm

Tickets £8-10

Unexpected Exeter Festival - all over the city

Exeters new arts festival (how many do we have now?) placing art and performance in unexpected places. 

There is a mixture of circus acts, visual art, performances and sporting events happening in odd places like the Pyramids swimming pool, bus shelters, and the Guildhall. 

Friday - Sunday

Complete programme of events

What's On 22nd - 28th July

New Blood, Bare Bones - The Bike Shed Theatre
Following on from the themes stirred up by the performance of Oxygen earlier this month these three short plays will cast modern eyes on democracy, voting, equality and suffrage.
Tuesday - Saturday  7.30pm
Tickets £5
(I'm looking forward to seeing this)


Back to Broadway - The Barnfield Theatre
A celebration of classic musicals from Broadway and the West End.
Saturday  7.30pm
Tickets £14-15
(I was going to see this, up until I read the price of a ticket!)

What's On 15th - 21st July

dream//life at the Bike Shed Theatre
A beautiful little play exploring dreams and contrasting life before and after MND - I've already given it five stars
Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm
Tickets £7-10

The Importance of Being Earnest, Poltimore House
A musical of Oscar Wilde's play of mistaken identities, criss-crossed romances and foolish men, performed by students from Cygnet New Theatre
Thursday and Saturday, 7pm
Tickets £5-10

Dancing at Lughnasa, Poltimore House
Brian Friels play of poverty, music and family in 1930s Ireland, performed by students from Cygnet New Theatre
Wednesday and Friday, 7pm
Tickets £5-10

dream//life

'dream//life' by tidy carnage, The Bike Shed Theatre

A lover's embrace turns into the muscular spasms, a playful performance of 'Feeling Good' turns chilling and a strong couple dream of the life they had before motor neurone disease took its toll.

tidy carnage are a new collective of theatre makers who specialise in physical performances with lots of dance and movement - so of course I was very interested to see how they would portray a story about MND which, at its simplest, is characterised by the loss of movement. The result is a tear-wrenching juxtaposition of two lives before and after MND strikes using music, singing, dance and mime.

I know it's lovely and hot outside at the moment, but come 7.30 it's definitely worth heading down in to the Bike Shed theatre to catch this bijoux performance. It's only on one more week.

*****
dream//life is on Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm. There is also screening of 'I Am Breathing', a film about MND on Wednesday at 6pm right before the play.
Tickets £7-10

What's On 8th - 14th July 2013

Sorry for the delay in getting this week's listings up

Some Like It Hotter - Exeter Phoenix
A musical comedy where Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis reunite in the afterlife.
Thursday - Saturday, 7.30pm with an extra matinee on Saturday at 2.30pm.
Tickets £10.50 - 20.50

dream//life - The Bike Shed Theatre
This amazing short play about a couple affected by motor neurone disease continues for this week and next. There are also screenings of the film 'I Am Breathing' on Wednesdays at 6pm.
Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm
Tickets £5-10

Whistle - The Bike Shed Theatre
A multi-media poetry performance about post-war British childhood.
Sunday only, 7.30pm
Tickets from £7

Anything Goes - The Barnfield Theatre
The SS America sails from New York to England, giving plenty of time for the eccentric passengers to fool around with love and mistaken identities.
Saturday only, 7.30pm and 3pm
Tickets £7.50-8.50
(I love a good musical, and I hope to catch this one)

The Importance of Being Earnest - Cygnet New Theatre
Oscar Wilde's classic comedic play about love and wit converted in to a musical.
Tuesday - Saturday 7.30pm, with a matinee on Saturday at 2pm
Tickets £8-10
(I'm not sure about the idea of a musical version of Wilde's play, but I might check it out)

What's On 1st - 7th July

Much Ado About Nothing - Exeter Phoenix
Match-making and trouble-making in Shakespeare's classic.
Friday 7.30pm
Tickets £5-7

As You Like It - Exeter Phoenix
Lovers bumble around a lot and evenutally unite in the Forest of Arden
Friday 2pm
Tickets £5-7
(surely I can't be the only one who gets sick of seeing the same half a dozen Shakespeare plays billed year after year)


Oxygen - Barnfield Theatre and Rougemont Gardens (tickets through Exeter Phoenix)
A new play to commemorate the centenary of the Great Suffrage Pilgrimage, the march for women's rights from Lands End to Hyde Park.
You can read more about the tour of the play and its development at http://dreadnoughtsouthwest.org.uk/
Rougemont - Thursday 3pm and 7.30pm   Tickets £7.50 - 10.50
Barnfield - Friday 7.30pm   Tickets £8-12
(I'm hoping the weather holds out so I can see this outdoors on Thursday)


A Doll's House - Cygnet New Theatre
Buried secrets begin to shake up the Helmers' marriage so Nora must begin to make her own mind up.
Tuesday - Saturday 7.30pm, matinee on Saturday at 2pm
Tickets £6-10


dream//life - The Bike Shed Theatre
Motor neurone disease traps you inside your body, so Ian decides to retreat to his dreams and imagination.
Tuesday - Saturday 7.30pm
Tickets £5-10
(This is on for three weeks as part of the tidy carnage residency at the Bike Shed. I'll be seeing it on Friday)

What's On 24th - 30th June

Birdhouse - Exeter Northcott Theatre
Minor characters from Hitchcock's 'The Birds' are given centre-stage in this new play that explores madness,  post-traumatic stress and fear as they are the only survivors of the bird attack on Bodega Bay.
Tuesday 7.30pm
Tickets £10.50-12.50


Chris Goode and company continue their residence at The Bike Shed Theatre. There is a different show every night (Tuesday - Saturday), so check out the full listing to make your choice.
Tickets £6-10


Monkey & Crocodile - a free unticketed performance in Belmont Park
An acrobatic musical re-telling of a traditional Indian fable.
Wednesday - Friday, 11am and 3pm each day


Double Dickens - The Barnfield Theatre
Two excerpts from the works of Dickens. Doctor Marigold deals with the life of a Victorian travelling salesman, and Mr Pickwick tries to survive The Trial of Pickwick.
Friday and Saturday 7.30pm
Tickets £7-8


Get To The Future - The Barnfield Theatre
An adaptation of a classic time travel movie.
Friday and Saturday 7pm
Tickets £4-7

Patterns

'Patterns' by Daniel Loveday, Cygnet New Theatre

This play highlighted a key things about live performances for me. Tech when done right isn't usually commented upon because it is a background element, but when it is done wrong then it can ruin a play. For the first half of Patterns the male detective didn't have his microphone turned on so you couldn't hear what he was signing, and throughout the entire play the electric piano was far too loud, it tended to overwhelm the voices of both actors, even with the microphones on.

Anyway, leaving aside technical misjudgments, the play itself was billed as a 'musical thriller'. This made me very wary from the beginning. Musicals aren't usually thrillers for a good reason, it's hard to maintain tension when your characters tend to burst into song. Actually I wouldn't describe it as a thriller, or even a murder mystery. Even for those not raised on a steady stream of Agatha Christie stories as a child, it must be obvious pretty early on who the killer is. So in a way, it is more like 'The Secret History' by Donna Tartt in that you know who the killer is and you're watching the build up to his crime, learning the 'why' rather than the 'who'. There was a slight twist at the end of the story, but not enough to make it truly dramatic.

As for the musical element....don't get me wrong, I love musicals when they're done right. But this one missed the mark. I think the key is to choose your song topics very carefully. There were some good song moments - the wistful explanation of the first murder, but there were also some cringe-worthy moments - a song about fighting over a packet of spaghetti.

Overall, the cast should be given credit for learning the whole thing in less than three weeks (the previous cast members pulled out suddenly), but the whole thing just seemed very amateur.

**

Patterns has one more show in Sidmouth, details here: http://www.patterns.uk.com/ (the fact that music starts playing automatically when you open this website, and there appears to be no way to turn it off, kind of sums up the whole thing for me)

What's On 17th - 23rd July

After the Beginning, Before the End, Exeter Phoenix
A cross between stand-up comedy and story-telling about an important idea that arrived suddenly.
Tuesday 8pm.
Tickets £10

Skin Deep, Barnfield Theatre
Set in 1980s Britain exploring the cultural melting pot happening around Ska and Two Tone music and culture.
Wednesday and Friday 7.45pm
Tickets £8

Patterns, The Cygnet New Theatre
A musical thriller about a charming killer who gives lonely women the best six months of their lives.
Friday 7.30pm
Tickets £6-10

Chris Goode and Co. residency, The Bike Shed Theatre
The second week of this three week residency. There is a difference performance each evening (Tuesday - Saturday).
Tickets £8-10

(I'm looking forward to seeing his performance of Ginsberg's Howl)

What's On 10th - 16th June

Grand Guignol - Barnfeld Theatre
If like me, you missed it at Ignite, you can still catch this triptych of horror plays on Tuesday.
Tuesday 11th only, 8pm.
Tickets £8-10
(I can't make my mind up to see this or not, I'm not a fan of horror films, would I like a play better?)

Peter Pan - Barnfield Theatre
Students from the drama course at Exeter College present the classic tale.
Thursday 13th June 10am, Friday 14th June 10am & 7pm, Saturday 15th June 1.30pm & 7pm, Sunday 16th June 1.30pm
Tickets £5-7

Chris Goode and Company will be in residence for the rest of June at the Bike Shed Theatre. There is a different performance each night, so it is best to read the residency information page to read all about them.  This week (Tuesday-Saturday) there is 'Welcome to Albemarle', 'Stories From The Yearning', 'a smith from a distance', 'ABLE REALM', and 'Some People Will Do Anything To Keep Themselves From Being Moved'.
Tickets £6-10

Nine Parts A Quaker - The Cygnet New Theatre
If the slave trade was abolished in the 19th century, why is there still slavery today? This play examines the story of Thomas Clarkson, an abolitionist, and the continuing work to end slavery today.
Friday 14th only, 7.30pm
Tickets £6.
(I'd be really interested in seeing this but I'm out of town on that evening).

Ablutions & La Donna e Mobile

It's now the last day of the Ignite Festival. I saw too many plays yesterday to write about, so I'll just briefly highlight my favourites.


'Ablutions' by Fellswoop, The Bike Shed Theatre
I'm not usually a fan of stories centering around alcoholics just because I find it hard to muster sympathy or empathy for them, but the quality of the acting from Fellswoop Theatre pushed this play in to my favourites of the festival. With no sets or props they conjured up a depressing American bar full of no-hopers and drug addicts, with the barman trying to make a clean break from that life.

*****
Last chance to see it is today at 8.40pm.


'La Donna e Mobile' by Remote Control Theatre, The Bike Shed Theatre
I'm not sure I can tell you what this play is about. Partly because I'm still working out the answer for myself, and partly because I think you should go and see it with an open mind and make your own decisions. I will however tell you that it's amazing, full of bold striking imagery and theatrics, and women with very good core body strength.

*****
This show has finished at Ignite, but at the end they mentioned they would be performing it in Edinburgh later this year.

www.igniteexeter.org.uk

Also, not actually a play, but Jonny and the Baptists were brilliant

I Think I'm A Feminist

'I Think I'm A Feminist' by Worklight Theatre, The Bike Shed Theatre

I already know I'm a feminist, but as a woman that's easy for me to say. Here we have an exploration of the ideas and problems surrounding feminism presented my an all male theatre group.

Are men and women different at a neurological level? Do you have to hate men to be a feminist? Does pornography help or hinder feminism? What's with all the pink toys? And is it really necessary to label oneself a feminist at all?

With projections, personal stories and frequent use of a lecturer's pointer the group run through their thoughts on the issues and the male role within modern feminism. I was impressed by the breadth of their research and the questions they posed to the audience, it's good to be left pondering after a performance.

***
Next on Saturday at 7.20pm

www.igniteexeter.org.uk

The Last Post & James Tries To Make His Life Slightly Better

'The Last Post' by Kilter, a red mobile theatre outside Exeter Phoenix

When was the last time you got a loving email?

It was love at first sight between Mobile Sorting Office 451 and I. The cluttered treasure trove bijou performance space was a delight even before the play started. Within this unusual space a charming love story unfolds between two quirky nomads working to keep the old postal traditions alive.

Scored with live music played by a mute who arrived in a jiffy bag this heart-warming tale is gentle and eccentric, and reminded me that I really should write to my mum.

*****
You can see this play Friday and Saturday at 1pm or 7.30pm each day.



'James Tries To Make His Life Slightly Better' by James Tapp, The City Gate Hotel

Everyone who has gone through their early 20s knows that realisation of 'I guess I'm no longer a kid - I should probably sort my life out'. Twenty-three year old James started out with a list (featuring things such as, brew good coffee at home, build a vinyl collection and, make myself more attractive to women) and good intentions. Through anecdotes, poems and a dressing-down from his inner self he shares his realisation that the process is more important than the aims. He's also hilarious.

****
James has now finished his awkward explorations for Ignite.

www.igniteexeter.org.uk

Clark Andrews' Tempest & Wild Thing I Love You

'Clark Andrews' Tempest' by Woodnote, The Bike Shed Theatre

An actor reminisces to himself in his dressing room about his family whilst also practicing his solo performance of Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' mixing the two story's together and hoping for a better outcome than Prospero's.

I think it helps if you've seen The Tempest so you know which characters he is portraying, but I'm not sure it's essential as the pieces he enacts are just vignettes and so you do not see the end of the storylines. You may be content to see the blossoming romance of a young man and a girl, and not need to know that they are Ferdinand and Miranda.

I saw part of this play as a scratch performance in February, some elements have been dropped since then, but what remains is a masterful combination of two stories mixing silent film elements with great acting.

*****
You can next see this on Saturday at 2.50pm



'Wild Thing I Love You' by Ella Good and Nicki Kent, The City Gate Hotel

Gathered around a map under canvas Ella and Nicki tell their story of searching for Big Foot in the Californian redwood forest.

Unfortunately I just found the whole thing a bit juvenile. There was something about the way they spoke in such soft voices, they're 'subtitles' for audio interviews that clearly left large chunks out, the claiming that some audio was of terrible quality when it turned out not to be, and the way one of them put a cardboard box over her head to re-enact a conversation that really grated against me.

I did like the way they used a live camera feed to create a real-time film on a small television with effects via a magnifying glass and paper scenery.

I like travel stories, so I had high hopes for this one, but I guess you can't get much sophistication from a story of nothing really happening.

**
You can see this today (Thursday) at either 7.30 or 8.45pm

www.igniteexeter.org.uk

On Hold & Herons

'On Hold' by Scratchworks, The Bike Shed Theatre

A dysfunctional messy unprofessional promotions team vie for the promotion of office manager whilst bickering and teasing each other over unresolved sexual tensions.

I feel there was a lot of potential here but what could have been the most interesting parts were brushed over. Was Josie actually sleeping at the office long-term? What was that brief mention about some professional misconduct in Malcolm's past about? Why spend so long diagnosing Katie with depression, and then have nothing come of it, especially as one of the characters was a psychologist?

**
On Hold has now finished its time at the Ignite festival



'Herons' by EUTCo, The Bike Shed Theatre

Thuggery and violence sit side by side with compassion and hope on a park bench by an East London canal.

There were a couple of faults. I suppose there's not much they can do about the fact that the ages of the actors are all wrong, but it does detract from the emotional impact of children going through such violent events when they all look like they're in their twenties. I also found it quite unbelievable that the tough thug character would break down so completely and immediately at the sight of a gun.

Overall, not a bad play, but not really to my taste either.

***
Herons is next on today (Thursday) at 2.30pm

www.igniteexeter.org.uk

Fox & Beneath the Albion Sky

'Fox' by Scratchworks, Exeter Phoenix

A silent film brought to life. This charming reimagining of Roald Dahl's classic has the animals leaping, crawling and dancing all over the place whilst soundtracked by live American Southern jazz.

With hardly any props and no scenery the mime elements of the show didn't always work (but only where there were a lot of 'objects' to handle) but the physicality was impressive. I particularly liked the girl playing the fox cub, she danced with such abandon that it looked like her limbs were made of rubber.

***
Fox has finished its run as part of Ignite



'Beneath the Albion Sky' by Write by Numbers, The Bike Shed Theatre

In his bewitching deep voice Paul (Andy Kelly) recounts his epic walk following the St. Michael's Ley Line from Land's End to Hopton-on-Sea. A mixture of acting, story-telling, good advice, fact and fiction, where he peacefully meets saints, knights and warrior queens, and violently confronts a dragon. Along the way considering our relationship with nature and change.

I wish my long distance walks were as interesting as his, but as he says - a walking story is always better than the walk.

*****
Your last chance to see it is Wednesday, 6.30pm
Tickets £6 (if purchased with no other shows)

www.igniteexeter.org.uk

What's On 3rd - 9th June

Any space can be a theatre, anyone can tell a story

I can't possibly list what's on in Exeter this week in my usual style as the Ignite festival is upon us. Six days, eight venues and something like 40 plays. As you can see from my copy of the programme, I hoping to keep myself busy hoping in and out of the venues. I've got 23 plays highlighted - I think it's doable.

Full details of performances and ticket prices are at www.igniteexeter.org.uk

But also, 

Two Gentlemen of Verona - Exeter Northcott Theatre

The critically acclaimed Tabacco Factory's latest Shakespeare production. 

Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm

Tickets £10.50 - 20.50

(I'm planning on going Wednesday)

What's On 27th May - 2nd June

Desert and The Roland Piece - The Bike Shed Theatre
Both plays are by the MolinoGroup and they are alternating their performances. So Tuesday and Thursday it's the new draft performance about war artist Roland Penrose. Wednesday and Friday are the final performances of 'Desert' dramatising Bradley Manning's time in pre-trial detention and the events that led him there.
All performances start at 7.30pm.
Tickets £7-10
(I've already seen Desert, I'll be seeing The Roland Piece later this week)

Dancing at Lughnasa - The Cygnet New Theatre
Cygnet's first play for the new season, about poverty and life in 1930s rural Ireland.
Running each evening until Saturday, 7.30pm.
Tickets £6-10

Varmints and The Elves and the Shoemaker - Exeter Northcott
It's a week for children's theatre at the Northcott. Varmints tells the story of a small creature trying to preserve his world from the entrouching city. The Elves and the Shoemaker updates the classic tale, with puppets.
Varmints is Tuesday, 3pm and 7pm. The Elves and the Shoemaker is Wednesday 3pm Thursday - Friday, 11am and 3pm.
Tickets £10-12.50

Desert

'Desert' by MolinoGroup, The Bike Shed Theatre

This was an interesting play to watch as, for me at least, it acted more as a launching platform to find out more about the Bradley Manning case than a conventional self-contained-story.

Desert was premiered last year at the Bike Shed, it has returned with an updated version as Manning has now spent over 1000 days in pre-trial detention and should be put on trial properly next month.

I know very little about the Manning case, the same as our narrator at the beginning of the play. We then follow her progress as she delves into the information available, tracing Manning's actions and talking to him about why he leaking classified US army intelligence. The story blends real-life transcripts and video with imagined scenes. I'm not sure if its an advantage or not that for some scenes I'm not sure if they were recreations of real events or fictitious. From their portrayal Manning doesn't seem particularly likeable, he seems awkward and a bit messed-up, but he is intriguing and as the narrator weaves her way through the story its clear that no-one is quite sure where it will end up.

It's a play that really gets you thinking - why did he have that much access to sensitive information? Was Lamo justified in turning him in? And most importantly, what would you have done in Manning's place?

****

Desert continues until Saturday, 7.30pm each evening. Tickets £7-10

Collecting/Hoarding

Does anyone else keep a scrapbook of theatre tickets? Before this blog it was my main way to keep track of all the shows I'd seen. I've also got odd bits stuck in there, like the gold coin that rolled right up to me at.the edge of the stage during Antony and Cleopatra.
Or perhaps you go further and neatly keep all the play programmes? Anyone else steal little bits of the props? Or am I being a hoarder?

What's On 20th - 26th May 2013

Dancing at Lughnasa - Cygnet New Theatre
Set in rural 1930s Ireland with the ancient festival of Lughnasa, Michael returns home to his extended family trapped in poverty but hoping to find love and dancing.
Starts on Friday 24th, 7.30pm, runs until 1 June next week
Tickets £6-10
(I'll be adding this to my diary - plus I love the poster)

Desert - The Bike Shed Theatre
An exploration of the story and events behind Bradley Manning, the American army analyst who allegedly leaked sensitive information to the website WikiLeaks.
Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm
Tickets £7-10
(Definitely interested in this one)

The Roland Piece - The Bike Shed Theatre
A draft of The MolinoGroup's new piece on the relationship between artists and war, focusing on British artist Roland Penrose's work during World War 2.
Matinee on Saturday at 2pm, then the play runs in the evenings next week.
Tickets £5
(I think I'll catch this next week)

Ignite: Exeter's Festival of Theatre

I've been a bit slow reporting this, but here it is - the Ignite Festival 2013 programme is now available!

You can check out all the show details on the official website: www.igniteexeter.org.uk
You can also pick up the brochure at good arts venues around the city.

I'll be rushing around like a mad thing seeing as many shows as I can, I think I have about 20 shows marked on my copy of the programme (luckily I've blagged myself a press pass to get in for free). Goodness knows what state I'll be in by the end of the week!

Let Poetry In To Your Life

Why don't more people go to poetry gigs?
Twice in as many weeks now I have been at under-attended poetry performances, and both times the shows were great! I've heard poems about epic Viking adventures, flamingos, drug addiction, Helen of Troy, nature's cruelty, the realisation that your parents were once young, and a poem made entirely of three letter words.

Both evenings were part of the Roving Poetry Festival and so featured a selection of poets, ensuring there was great variety each night. There was something for everyone - and yet, everyone was elsewhere. Why is that?

Do we not feel an evening of poetry is worth £10? Have we all had poetry ruined for us in the dissection of high school English classes? Do we fear that we aren't clever enough to 'get' it? Are we afraid to let poetry into our lives?

48 hour musical

Tonight is the performance of a brand new musical, written, rehearsed, directed and performed all within 48 hours. The promo photo of a grown up and fed up Snow White looks intriguing. I wish I could go, but I have to work :(

It's being held at the University of Exeter. Search for the event on FaceBook under 'Shotlights 48 hour musical' for more details. 

What's On 13th - 19th

I Was A Rat! - Exeter Northcott Theatre
The first theatrical production of Phillip Pullman's book by the same name about a boy who used to be a rat before turning up on a married couple's doorstep.
Wednesday - Saturday, check the website for times
Tickets £12.50


Lucifer Saved - The Bike Shed Theatre
This is the last week of this play of tragedies and war 'heroes' at the Bike Shed. There are also two more Roving Theatre Poetry Nights - Tuesday and Thursday.
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 7pm
Tickets £7-10


The Ringmaster - Barnfield Theatre
A community performance about a circus where not all is smoke and mirrors.
Saturday and Sunday, 7.30pm.
Tickets £3-5

NB: The performances of 'The Restoration Project' at the Barnfield Theatre have been cancelled

Sound Bite

'Sound Bite' at the Barnfield Theatre, Exeter

At the beginning the two NASA press officers in charge of composing Neil Armstrong's first words on the moon reminded me of Lister and Rimmer from Red Dwarf, one uninterested in his work and the other trying too hard. But they become more complex as we learn more about their backgrounds through the discussions and arguments that occur whilst they are supposed to be working.

The play cleverly makes jokes about the past, and what we have learnt about those times with the benefit of hindsight, but it's central theme is about drawing parallels between the landing on the moon and the feminist movement, which I'd never considered before.

Whilst the comedy (and the American accents) faltered at times the good moments outweighed the bad. The acting was a bit stiff at the beginning but I'll put that down to opening night nerves, as they improved once they warmed up.

Staged with audience space for less than 30 people, set close to the stage, you feel the claustrophobia as the clock ticks on, and the play teases you, dropping odd words or phrases for Armstrong's finished line until you find yourself thinking "come on, you're so close!"

All in all, this play wasn't outstanding but it was enjoyable and I'd recommend it if you have an evening free.

***

Sound Bite continues through Saturday, 8pm. Tickets £5-7

Venus & Adonis

'Venus & Adonis' at Shakespeare's Globe, London 

Better critics than I can tell you about the amazing Isango Ensemble performance of Shakespeare's poem 'Venus & Adonis', performed in a mix of six languages and featuring magnificent singing and music. But one thing I particularly noted about the story was the reversal to our modern gender-based roles in a love story.

Modern music, TV and films are filled with the story of:
boy meets girl, girl isn't interested, boy keeps pestering and following girl (because surely she can't actually mean 'no', she's just playing hard-to-get), and eventually girl gives in - or rather realises the folly of her ways and boys true love.

But in Venus & Adonis these roles are reversed. It's Venus who keeps harrasing Adonis when he refuses her romantic advances. And, interestingly, it has a very difference result to our modern stories.

What's On 6th - 12th

Sound Bite - Barnfield Theatre
July 1969 and the men responsible for composing Neil Armstrong's first words on the moon have writers block.
Wednesday - Saturday, 8pm
Tickets £5 - 7
(I'm considering seeing this)

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (revised) - Exeter Northcott Theatre
A comedic run-through of all the bard's plays condensed into an hour and a half.
Friday 10th only, 6pm and 9pm
Tickets £16 - 18

Lucifer Saved continues at The Bike Shed Theatre
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, with poetry beforehand, 7pm
On Tuesday and Thursday the same production company are hosting poetry nights with invited artists, including Alice Oswald and Jackie Juno.

Tickets £7 - 10

What's On 1st-5th May

Guys and Dolls - Exeter Northcott Theatre
The Exeter Musical Society are putting on this classic Tony award winning musical about gambling and love. Monday - Saturday 7.30pm, and a matinee at 2.30pm on Saturday.
Tickets £12.50-18.50

Lucifer Saved - The Bike Shed Theatre
A tale of WW2 veterans struggling to remember and trying to forget.
Friday & Saturday - 7pm. It's also on various dates for the next two weeks, with poetry sessions mixed in.
Tickets £5-10

The Incomers

'The Incomers' at the Bike Shed Theatre

I loved it.

The Incomers is a story of sex, drugs, and perfectly seared scallops. Throughout a wedding anniversary dinner party we see the at first sensible-seeming characters fall apart as a French woman (and a fair amount of cocaine) cause them to examine their lives and secrets.

The language is poetic without it feeling like one very long poem and the acting is brilliant. There's also some very funny and clever use of music and lighting.

Recommended to anyone with a slightly dark sense of humour.

****

A side note on audience dynamics. I can't say I usually much notice what my fellow audience members are up to during a play. But for this performance about 80% of the seats were occupied by high school students, and it made a strange difference. They laughed at different parts than I did, and some of them audibly cringed when the actors took their clothes off. They may have been old enough for the play (I'd say they were all around 15/16) but they didn't seem mature enough, and it made the atmosphere a bit tense.

What's On, 22nd-28th April

The Misanthrope - Exeter Northcott Theatre
A Molière classic mockery of manners and morals set amid 17th century French aristocracy. Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm. There's also a Saturday matinee at 2.30 Tickets £12.50 - £20.50
(I'm going to try and cram this in to my calendar)

The Incomers - The Bike Shed Theatre
What starts as a simple celebration between four friends quickly unravels with one revelation after another until we become aware that no one has been telling the truth to anyone about anything for a very long time. Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm. Tickets £7 - 10
(I think it's written in verse, I'm looking forward to seeing it)

The Disappearance of Sadie Jones

Hmmm, my first review, here goes....


'The Disappearance of Sadie Jones' by Hannah Silva at The Bike Shed Theatre, Exeter

Well, it's not a play for everyone. It's one of those plays that is more about artistry, and clever use of set and language - rather than about an interesting story.

Writer/director Hannah Silva has used a minimal amount of props and cast to portray the story of a macabre unstable woman dipping between fantasy and reality. The audience is swept along, not entirely sure of where the fantasy ends and the reality begins. You mustn't spend too long puzzling over this or you'll end up as mad as Sadie - though her encounter with a greengrocer selling apples would do that to anyone.

The language is lyrical with plays on synonyms, repetition and timing. The set is interesting with parts like minimalist modern design and parts like a child's graveyard. There are flashes of humour in the story but overall it's quite dark.

I don't think I'd recommend this play to most people, but if you love the art of theatre and dream-like strangeness it's definitely worth checking out. It is on at The Bike Shed until 20th April. Tickets £7-10.

***

What's On This Week

The Disappearance of Sadie Jones - The Bike Shed Theatre
Sadie Jones wants to disappear. She walks a tightrope between reality and her imagination; a chaos of words, and silence.
Until the 20th April. Tickets from £10
(I'll be seeing this during the week)

'Allo 'Allo - The Barnfield Theatre
Based on the old TV show about René, the hapless café owner in the town of Nouvien in war-torn occupied France, as he and his wife, Edith, struggle to keep for themselves a priceless portrait of the ‘Fallen Madonna with the big boobies’.
Until the 20th April. Tickets from £11
(I loved the TV show as a child, but I'm not sure the humour will have stood the test of time)

Lie Back and Think of America - The Cygnet New Theatre
A multi-role WW2 comedy-drama written and performed by Natalie Wilcox.
Only 18th April. Tickets £8

Punchdrunk: The Drowned Man

A new trailer for The Drowned Man has just been released. Looks intriguing!

(warning: contains flashing images)

Good Times

I'm in a good mood for two reasons
1. I'm using this post to test posting blogs and images from my mobile
2. Recent theatre ticket purchases :)
  'Venus & Adonis' by Isango Ensemble at the Globe later this month
  'The Drowned Man' by Punchdrunk at a secret location in London in September.
Had to book that last one very early as tickets sell out quickly, but I was able to use the last of my Christmas theatre tokens so at least it was affordable

Exeter, City of Theatres

Just a list off the top of my head to lay things out.

Exeter is a very theatre-friendly city as evidenced by the fact that we must have one of the highest theatre-to-population ratios in the UK.

• Exeter Northcott
• The Bike Shed Theatre
• The Barnfield Theatre
• Exeter Phoenix
• The Corn Exchange
• The Cygnet New Theatre

Other theatre-ish performance spaces

• The Hall Exeter (when it's finished)
• Hope Hall
• Westpoint Arena

And then there's Kaleider, who do non-site-specific performances. And I'm sure there will be more to come.

So plenty of places to start looking for works to review!