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The Hideout by Haste Theatre at The Old Joint Stock in Birmingham, 24 July 2015

27/7/2015

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A review by Adrian Johnson

The Hideout at The Old Joint Stock in Birmingham by Haste Theatre, 24 July, 2015.

Part of Birmingham Fest of new theatre.

The Hideout begins as soon as you walk into the auditorium. Curious characters make conversation with the audience as they arrive. Then once everyone’s in we are cordially invited by Hades (energetically and exuberantly played by Ellie Beaman-Brinklow) to pick an idea for a show, which by chance they have all the right props to show and re-tell providing it is the tale of Theseus and the Minotaur. And, boy, can this sassy and creative ensemble company show and tell. We get licks of jazz from the poised and pulsating Jesse Dupre in toy soldier red striped trews (playing an indulgent personification of Dionysius) and a positively mercurial, cutesy and tricksy Aphrodite (played with glee by Jenny Novitzky). Together these three capricious gods play tricks on poor, heroic, Theseus (played with comic perfection by Sophie Taylor) complete with bulging bright boxing gloves, inhaler and an absurdly sketched six pack on his pink belly.

In a tightly wound show of 60 glorious minutes of captivating physical theatre, we get deft touches of shadow puppetry, sight gags, tap dancing bulls, songs, comedy running and truly unexpected tragedy - offered in the shape of Ariadne (beautifully played Elena Constanzi) who sincerely and deftly conveys the heart break of her lost love, Theseus, through the connivance of those truculent, game playing Greek God, Hades, Dionysius and Aphrodite.

So, should you find yourself in lucky possession of a ticket for this show, like me during the Birmingham Fest of new theatre this summer or while they’re up in Edinburgh  (5-30th August, 13.20 at Venue C ) go see and enjoy! You’re guaranteed to see five very wonderful (undeniably cute and beautiful) young custodians of the magic of Doctor theatre, being silly, deploying great theatrical craft, storytelling and effortlessly (as if!) demonstrating everything you simply ache to tell and share with your friends who don’t know what sublime, visually and physically imaginative theatre is, but you do, and you’ll want to tell others, like me. Think a bit of Knee High, Complicite, maybe a little bit of Forkbeard Fantasy and all the great theatre shows that just never translate to the small screen, because it’s theatre and simply all you need – and magically much, much, more.

Naturally, you’ll imagine I must be married to one of the cast (no) or maybe related (no) but I am powerfully impressed by this show and for my sins I do teach drama and English in Birmingham and I have seen too many shows that I’d never want to enthuse about as much as this show, The Hideout. It’s a gem. Believe me.  Go see for yourself.

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'Of mice and men' at the Birmingham Repertory theatre, October - 1st November , 2014

29/10/2014

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Should the Birmingham REP stick to Steinbeck?
As a secondary school teacher of English and drama I was initially delighted to see a main stage production of Steinbeck’s novella ‘Of mice and men.’ Then I sat in the auditorium and boggled at the superfluous and erroneous additional dialogue attributed to Curley’s wife which sought to very clumsily tell, not show, how lonely she was at the ranch. If there was any doubt, she said she was lonely, not once, but twice. She never does, or needs to say this in the novella. She also claims to be running away from the ranch with her suitcase when she encounters Lenny in the grain store – she does no such thing in the novella - and so it goes on. Now, whoever wrote this stage adaptation (Director Roxana Silbert? It’s not clear) has a lot of editorial decisions to make, but for any eager school student studying the play as part of their GCSE English Literature studies they would encounter so many inaccuracies and misleading new additions of dialogue that eventually they could not help but form a very different opinion of Curley’s wife – which would be so very far from that which is actually presented by Steinbeck in the original novella.

What responsibility does the dramatic adapter and writer for the stage have to the original text ?

This raises a significant question: what responsibility does the dramatic adapter and writer for the stage have to render and represent the characters portrayed in the original novella on the stage? Let’s not forget this kind of production will and does attract substantial student ticket buyers which to my mind, at least, requires some kind of faith in the text. The acting was all fine and dandy, but the significant omissions and irrelevant and misleading additional dialogue made for a very uncomfortable viewing experience. Not least at the end when Slim joined George at the brush and asks if George would like a little time alone with George. Arrrrrgh! This simply does not happen in the novella. What does happen in the novella and never appears on stage is Slim’s re-assuring arrival after the tragic death of Lenny at the hands of his own best friend on the road. In the Saturday night performance I saw the company also threw away any dramatic, reflective time by bringing the lights up as soon as Lenny was shot then he also quickly popped up to take a bow within seconds of his tragic death. Oh dear. Do they not have any well informed teacher/advisers who teach books like ‘Of mice and men’ at the Rep and promote the need for emotional, dramatic and character accuracy, as it is clearly illustrated in the prize winning book?  

Perhaps this doesn’t matter?

Perhaps I’m paying too much attention to this as an important matter. But hold on, the theatre certainly seems to want school groups to visit and also offers a pack for schools to read and consider. I made an enquiry about who wrote this misleading script, on the Reps ‘Of mice and men’ website page and it vanished overnight without an answer.

So, despite some other promotional puffs for this show on the Rep website (natural) it was a very disappointing experience when compared to the lean, taut and beautiful novella that Steinbeck wrote – which is a real shame when I think of the  many other entertaining and dramatically moving pieces of theatre I have enjoyed at the Rep since it re-opened.

Any feedback from fellow teachers, members of NATE or readers of the novella who also saw the show would be most welcome.

Adrian Johnson, MSC

Teacher of English Literature and Drama in Birmingham    

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    Adrian Johnson is a secondary school teacher of English and Drama in Birmingham.

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