D.C Moore's
one man play Honest has a lot going for it. For the performer
it requires a big degree of concentration, as do all one man shows,
but this one especially so because the character is mostly talking
about his experiences where he was under the influence of alcohol.
With a script that requires the performer to stop and start, begin
again falsely and change subject frequently and in doing so, keep the
audience's interest and attention throughout fifty minutes – the
performer and script have to be very good. The actor also has to be
able to trust that script and realise the comedy aspects and work
with them through his skills and those of the director.
Fowl Humour present
Honest at a variety of venues across Nottingham as part of the
inaugural year for Font Festival – a festival of Live Performance
featuring new theatre works, devised theatre and performance art.
Honest is performed in a basement studio space (27th May) at Lee Rosey's
on Broad Street Nottingham and it is directed by Andrew Fowler.
Professional actor
Matthew Hunt plays David, an embittered man in his thirties, who sits
at a small table in a wine stained shirt, surrounded by evidence of a
mixed alcohol binge drinking session. He is in situ as the
audience take their seats; his mood morose. He is crunching on fizzy
vitamin tablets and dropping another into a glass of water but never
drinking it. He stares at half a pint of lager as 'Vienna' by
Ultravox plays in the distance. As the play begins Hunt talks
directly to the audience.
Wisely the piece isn't
performed as a drunken slur but rather a sober, occasionally angry,
wry recount of the character David's malcontent view of his office
job and his co-workers and the yuppy boss Ben. He pretty much
despises the whole package and anyone who has ever worked in a
Council office will recognise the characters and the rituals. This is
where the piece works the best – the drama and comedy of
recognition. Hunt brings all of the wonderfully drawn characters to
life so well that you almost believe they are on the stage with him.
One of the highlights of the piece is when Hunt's character David
invites reluctant boss Ben into the male toilets to allegedly share
some cocaine. Just through his stance and half way stare the audience
are 'there' in the claustrophobic confines of a gents toilet cubicle.
Throughout the piece Hunt makes great use of his body language to
portray himself and the other characters in conversation.
After a massive
argument at an office night out Hunt takes his character on another
drunken lope on foot through and out of Nottingham towards Beeston.
He gets frighteningly furious at the server in McDonalds for not
serving a big mac at breakfast time (twice) and each stage of his
vengeful journey to Ben's house is confused by him blacking out and
waking up in another area. Once more in D.C Moore's play we find the
'journey' littered with local characters and recognisable landmarks
but will David ever get to Ben's house and what does he plan to do to
his pissed off boss?
In a confident
performance by Matthew Hunt we can be honestly assured of a dramatic and often
funny fifty minutes of theatre.
Honest can be seen in a second run June 10th -13th at the Nedd Ludd in Nottingham
Today I was
tremendously privileged to attend a rehearsal of 'Much Ado About
Nothing'. It wasn't at the RSC. It wasn't at the National Theatre. It
wasn't at The Globe nor Regent's Park. It didn't include bowing to
Kenneth Branagh, Sir Kenneth Branagh, or … or … those other noisy ones. It was much much better
than that! Much better! Much much better!! It was with the Oddsocks Theatre Company!!! (Expecting a
super loud cheer now).
Their young producer
Hope Ward-Brown took me into the hallowed rehearsal space on Green Lane, gave me a
coffee and the cast and director welcomed me by name and with broad smiles (I
checked my flies) and - bourbon biscuits languorously lathered with
organic peanut butter. Yummy! It doesn't get better than that! It
really doesn't. Forget your fancy welcoming buffet crudités and your
false bonhomie of Londres. This is a real Derby welcome, duck, from a professional
theatre company who take life from the fun side and make it even sunnier and
funnier.
Throughout the two
hours I stayed I listened with great interest as director Andy Barrow
steered the cast members through their scenes and took on their
suggestions as to how it might work 'Oddsocks style' and concurred
with many of the performers' ideas. This is touring Shakespearian comedy
brought up to date that will be performed with the emphasis on
collaboration and most importantly a liberated sense of fun,
musicality, grassy expanses and the occasional cosy indoor theatre.
"I can readeth my lines with mine eyes closed. Thank you. "
This is what the many
admirers of Oddsocks enjoy so much when they tour: the honest
connection with the original text (albeit cut ever so slightly), the
energy of the performers clearly enjoying what they are doing, the
inherent professionalism and their abiding love of entertainment.
Often the most entertaining values for an audience are those realised
when the cast double or even treble up their roles. In Oddsock's
'Much Ado' and 'Twelfth Night' I learnt that we will have the
pleasure of seeing director/actor Andy Barrow as Leonato &
Malvolio, the versatile Kevin Kemp as Benedick & Toby Belch, the triple
talented Rebecca Little as (drum roll) Beatrice, Maria & Viola,
and the beautiful Ukulele proficient Lucy Varney as Hero &
Olivia.
There's more folks. The many talented and handsome Gavin Harrison will be
Don John/Don Pedro/Orsino and Andrew Aguecheek) and the lovely Peter
Hoggart will impress as Claudio/Feste/Sebastian. All will be playing musical instruments in each show! (Big round of
applause for everyone please!)
I for one, and one for
all, (different play Phil) will be looking forward to Oddsocks' tour
this Summer where the bold, challenging and decidedly interactive
company will be No Holds Bard (copyright Phil Lowe 2015) with 'Much Ado About Nothing' and
'Twelfth Night' Check out the tour schedule HERETH.
Thanks for the invite Oddsocks I hope that I have done you proud. Phil
Make no bones about it
- this production of A Skull in Connemara by Martin McDonagh
at Nottingham Playhouse is a bloody cracking play. Directed by Fiona
Buffini it allows for plenty of slow burning craic in the first half
and really steps up the drunken murderous pace in the second. It is
also such a wonderful story with more twists and turns than a
shattered pelvis bone that this reviewer feels acutely spoiler shy.
The moody set of a
lonely cottage interior sitting among the darkening misty coastal
hills of rural Ireland is superbly created by award winning designer
Madeleine Girling. The house is finely detailed even to the point of
having a fire burning in the grate and smoke rising from the chimney
above. Girling also takes us to a bleak graveyard where the hero Mick
(Ged McKenna) digs up human bones from the graves to make room for
more bodies. This is well realised with soil coming up by the spade
full and we hear a chilling cracking sound as the flimsy coffins are
broken into.
A Skull in Connemara
is a short play at under two
hours.The scripting is super economic, genuinely funny and like
McDonagh's other plays and film In Bruges
it has a poetic stream of pitch black tragic comedy running through
it. There is even a 'gobshite's glossary' in the programme explaining
some of the Irish slang and swear words! On a serious note the play
touches upon the loneliness, regret and remorse of the main character
Mick Dowd who often sits alone in his cottage knocking back a potent
Irish spirit made from fermented potatoes called Poteen. Getting
drunk is Mick's way of dealing with the death of his wife Oona who
was killed in a car crash seven years ago. Rumours about the true
cause of her death have been a constant source of malign gossip in
the local community. Did Mick's drunk driving kill her or was her
death deliberate? It is a grave matter for all. What will they find
when they dig up her bones? Is there some devilish Skulduggery going
on in Connemara?
Peopled
with just four actors McDonagh's play gives plenty of scope for
characterisation and given that most of the time the majority of them
are fall down wobbly from the Poteen they all do a brilliant job of
keeping the drunken scenes real. As Mick Dowd, actor Ged McKenna
pulls out all the stops (and bones) with a solid and very believable
performance as the duplicitous widower. The only woman in the play is
the strangely named Maryjohnny and her cunning and cadging nature is
terrifically drawn out with an understated and grubby clothed
presentation by actress Paddy Glynn.
Diversely
motivated brothers Thomas and Mairtin (Paul Carroll and Rhys Dunlop)
complete the foursome. Thomas is the local Garda who dreams of being
a great police detective but fails to see the blindingly obvious
criminal scenes in front of him. The dim cop is comically realised
by Carroll but even his comedy has a devilishly strong vein of secret
cruelty – this in a man that is supposed to represent the law
abiding side of their community.
On
the opposite side of the law there is naughty boy Mairtin - a
cunning eejit constantly correcting his potty mouth in front of
Granny Maryjohnny. Dunlop brings great energy to Mairtin's quasi
likeable character and is brilliantly funny in every one of his
entrances – especially the unexpected one. In fact that
is what is so delightful about this rarely performed play – the
aspects of the unexpected.
A Skull in Connemara
abounds with deceptively simple characters and situations that draw
you into their world almost as a smugly amused observer. Then just as
you are toasting your toes by the lovely warm cottage fire someone
throws a proverbial firework into the flames and everything you
expected to happen explodes unexpectedly around you! Head to
Nottingham Playhouse to see this beauty of a pitch black Irish comedy
while you can. Oh and there's a biteen of swearing, so there is now.
Credit for the feel of the show should also be given to lighting designer Ian Scott, sound designer: Adam P MCready and fight director Philip D'Orleans.
Graduate Showcase for
MADD college Nottingham students at The Criterion Theatre. May 11th
2015.
The Criterion Theatre
in London's West End is one of the most beautiful and characterful
theatres I have ever seen. Echoing with the energy of its current
production of The 39 Steps the empty stage is set for the twenty-five
young graduates of Nottingham's MADD (Midlands Academy of Dance and
Drama) to showcase their triple threat talents. Industry agents sit
in the circle eager to see what special talents await them. Music
pulses. The house lights go down and an hour long extravaganza
begins.
Directed by Emma
Clayton, the showcase is a musically bright mix of ensemble numbers,
solos and duets interspersed with short explosive hits of comedy and
drama all knitted together with cleverly thought through transitions.
The transitions give the showcase a fluid and unified feel and keep
the pace going throughout.
The main ensemble
numbers Thoroughly Modern Millie, and the finale
number 'Transylvania Mania' – Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks)
demonstrate the students highly trained professional musical focus
and unselfish performances. The energy is strong in both pieces, the
vocal clarity pin sharp and the two sections are choreographically
tight. With only an hour to prove themselves both ends of the
showcase start and finish with colourful fun and pizazz.
Then, during the show,
we witness the shorter single sex ensembles both from South Pacific
by Rogers and Hammerstein. The seven guys singing 'There is Nothin'
Like A Dame' all deliver spot on performances vital in a piece where
just one performer with poorer diction can ruin the feel of it. Not
so with these guys and they really look like they are having
tremendous fun with the song and delivering it professionally.
Also from South Pacific
we have the other end of the sexual argument with the eleven female
performers oozing sweet femininity offset by gutsy determination with
their strong rendition of 'I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My
Hair' . Already we have performances from two musical theatre shows
from the past. In an age of theatrical entertainment, there are
demands for a varied style mix of shows in the West End and
throughout the UK. Where nostalgic classics can prove a real box
office draw and become critical hits it is crucial that today's
students are versatile enough to be able to audition and perform to
suit the period nature of the piece. These Midlands based students
have no fear here and can hold their best alongside the London based
schools. The standard is extremely high.
Built into the
programme there are short scenes from drama based works. Mostly,
these are of a comedic nature and actor Benjamin Hart proves that
comedy is often best done as a serious business to gain the laughs.
He demonstrates his straight faced comedy best alongside the
versatile Matthew Brock in Hit and Run created by David Dalton and
Chad Schnackel. Holly Wathall and Jessica Gilbert are both hilarious
in Sloppy Mouth and totally all out brave in the execution of the
physical comedy.
Benjamin Hart
Certain comedy needs to
be shown as an heightened form of reality, non-more-so than in the
audition based piece 'You Laughing At Me'. In the showcase this is
pulled off well by actors Savanna Darnell, Sadie Renée
Malo and Frances Alicia. In a theatrical environment with an audience
of theatre folk this particular piece goes down a treat especially
because it is so well done, including the deliberately bad Laarndan
accent.
Out of all the comedy
pieces 'Over The Edge', (written by David Dalton and Chad Schnackel)
performed with wit and alacrity by Leanne Storey, Harriet Guard and
Francis Alicia is beautifully done. The focus on the invisible car
about to be 'helped' over the edge of a cliff is so well judged one
believes in the car and the comedy responses by the women when they
realise the man inside isn't dead are - to die for.
Kennedy Faith
With the one serious
piece of drama namely Two by Jim Cartwright actors Joshua -Kyle
Cantrill and Kennedy Faith put a dangerous edge to this scary piece
about chauvinistic manipulation. At times it is so unbearably cruel
that one wants to leap up in protection of the woman. Of course
Cartwright's writing is darkly affecting but the bravery and
treatment of it by the actors and their director make it really
live. Kyle Cantrill and Faith perform this piece with extremely
mature and courageous performances.
Joshua Kyle-Cantrill
The modern dance
performance Joie De Vie (Natalia Kills/Rihanna) fully demonstrates
the commitment and talent to dance by the MADD students that brought
such admiration and applause from the audience at the Move It dance
expo recently. Dance done as good as this is never easy but these
dedicated students make the finished result look effortless. This is
due to the natural talents nurtured to a fine point by the
professional training they receive at MADD college.
The showcase is
littered with quality solo songs all sung to a very professional
standard. Amongst these are Sondheim's 'Broadway Baby' sung by Rebecca
Telling plus two numbers from Thoroughly Modern Millie – 'Gimmie
Gimmie' sung by Holly Wathall and the jazzy 'Only In New York' given a
great smoky vocal treatment by Summer Rozenbroek. The Calamity Jane
classic 'Secret Love' is a hit for student Jessica Gilbert and Lauren
Hart finds the camp humour in 'It's Hard To Tell' – Soho Cinders. She
is helped by the funny interpretations of the men completing the feel
of the piece.
The duets don't go by
unnoticed either particularly when done with such style. Kennedy
Faith with Thomas Adam Monk express well the musically challenging
style of Jason Robert Brown through his wry comic song 'A Summer In
Ohio'. Daniel Fuins and Matthew Brock find the total silliness in 'We
Can Do It' from Mel Brooks' The Producers.
Real charisma on stage
is that undefinable thing borne of natural talents encouraged and
honed, coupled with an innate gift for heartfelt interpretation. In a
cast of twenty-five clearly talented students destined to do the MADD
college proud in the theatrical arts sector two students for this
reviewer stood out. Sadie Marie – Ebbon and Savanna Darnell.
Both of them are
excellent in their comedy roles but more especially in their solo
songs. Sadie Marie-Ebbon pulls the heart-strings with her touching
and polished rendition of Marc Shaiman's 'Fly, Fly Away – Catch Me
If You Can'. In her interpretation she brings out much of the song's
tender feeling. At times, during her mesmerising presentation I am
reminded of a younger Frances Ruffelle. A very confident piece.
Sadie Marie Ebbon
With another song by
Marc Shaiman – this time from the popular musical Hairspray -
Savanna Darnell brings all of her character's smoky soul filled
glamour to the stage with 'I Know Where I've Been'. Darnell is most
certainly one to watch and judging from the audience's whooping and
cheering reaction today they could have watched her and listened to
her sing all night.
Savanna Darnell
In this sparkling and
packed showcase of twenty-nine pieces featuring twenty-five young
talents this reviewer can only applaud the work that has gone into
its presentation at one of London's most historic theatres. It is
impossible to mention everyone for everything in a short review but
given the excellent professional standards experienced today many of
the students could graduate and achieve lengthy careers in the arts.
Praise should also be
given to Principal Frances Clayton and all the supremely dedicated staff/tutors
at MADD for showing that there is great young talent to be nurtured
in the Midlands.
Inspired by his home city of Cádiz
- a place of over three thousand years of history
- flamenco star
Jesús
Fernández whips up a
dance storm of mesmerising complexity at Lakeside Theatre on the
Nottingham University campus. In four distinct dance sequences
he takes us on a nostalgic and personal view of his home town through
the styles of flamenco particular to the region around Cádiz.
Fernández
is a hypnotic performer with a mix of the intensity of duende burning
in his soul and he shows us his attractive and cheeky masculine
persona through his passionate dance. At times as his spins
on the spot perspiration spins out from his soaked neck and face.
There is much of drama in his dance and indeed he employs various
props to aid in his interpretations like in the video clip above. The
sold out show at Lakeside demonstrates the following he enjoys and
the capacity audience are appreciative with applause and our
admiration is palpable in its silent attention. The opportunity to
witness the show is given through Flamenco Edition'15 under the
artistic direction of Ana Garcia.
Choreographer and
dancer Jesús Fernández
is joined on stage tonight by vocally astounding Francisco Trinidad
performing the vocals or Cante. At times he makes it feels like
we are actually in Cádiz
such is the vocal attention to detail and control of his powerful
voice. Anabel Moreno accompanies the dance well with her defined art
of Palmas or rhythmic percussive clapping. Israel Mera adds to
the dance tempo on percussion sometimes creating a mood resonant of
the sea with delicate brushing of his hands against a wooden block.
Jesús
Núñez conjures up all
that is best in the Spanish guitar playing with his
solo instrumentals and in his accompaniment.
Through the varied
lighting effects achieved (often isolated circles or rectangular
blocks of light) by lighting designer Susana Romero we can imagine
the old town and narrow streets of Cádiz
in this flamenco show of the same name. Even the creative use of a
large fishing net at the rear of the stage reminds us of Cádiz
as a very old fishing port.
Jesús
Fernández's Cádiz
is an exemplary dance based show and the Lakeside Arts audience are
privileged to witness this young dancer at the height of his art
of flamenco. Viva Cádiz!
Ben Weatherill's
Chicken Dust is the 2015 winner of the Curve Leicester's
Playwriting Competition and was originally shown as a staged reading
at the Finborough Theatre in a festival for Finborough playwrights.
The ninety minute play at Curve marks the full length début of
Weatherill's East Midlands based drama. It is a highlight in Curve's
excellent Inside Out Festival of new theatre work. If this showing is
a good indicator of creative talent then Weatherhill has a fine
future in dramatic writing.
Chicken Dust is
tightly directed by Chelsea Walker and the new work is helped by
exemplary casting. In this very close up studio based environment,
complete with a grubby formidable cage like set, (designer Cecilia Carey) the acting ranges
from very subtle to accurate and often moving demonstrations of
emotions. The short scenes are punctuated with a variety of sound
effects created by sound designer Ella Wahlström.
These are acoustic variants on a mix of panicky chicken sounds
underscored with an industrial roar. Occasionally we hear lorries
going by. All combined they create an atmosphere of itchy
claustrophobia in which the human story of workers at the chicken
farm dramatically unfolds.
The story concerns the
extremes of the chicken farm which is being forced to raise more and
more chickens for public consumption and the spiralling costs
involved leading the farmer into increasing debts. The other costs
considered in the drama are those of the human workers and their
stress levels as they try to eke an existence on poor pay and even
poorer health and safety conditions. In a moment of almost shocking
disassociation one character even says of the chickens “You have to
remember, they are not really animals.”
The six strong cast
give to Chicken Dust a deeply
truthful sense of reality. They portray well the rough camaraderie
of the workers often returning from collecting and ramming live
chickens into cages to be sent to slaughter. We also witness some
dark humour from the corporate end of the business in Alexander
Gatehouse's portrayal of Oscar. Gatehouse excels as the ever smiling
representative of PlusFood Poultry, sometimes comically so and other
times chillingly as he assists in a dismissal of a farm worker.
The single woman in the
piece is Val (Paddy Navin) who we discover is an ex farmer and ex con
now doing the only job she can get as a worker at the chicken farm.
Navin brings out all of Val's self protecting nature, her coarse
expressions with the men and her gentler side in a superbly
believable performance. Christopher Hancock as new worker Tim is a
likeable character who wants to do well and is taking some time out
from University to earn some money and help his father. Hancock is
especially convincing towards the end as he fears his life is in
serious danger from his unexpected actions against the farm.
Mark Conway steals the
show as Razvan the young Romanian worker who is happy to slave away
on a basic wage of £6.50 per hour so he can send money home and
dream of going on holiday to Ibiza. His accent is spot on and he very
effectively demonstrates a tremendously dark vein of gritty humour in
the man. This is especially so in the scene as he and Tim return from
working a shift, their overalls covered in chicken excrement, blood
and feathers stuck to their boots and Razvan laughs at Tim for
feeling bilious. A great deal of thought and authenticity has gone into the costuming by costume designer Sarah
Mercadé
The two older men in
the play, Russ the stressed and debt ridden farmer (Paul Easom) and
Freddie the blunt and embittered long serving worker (Roger
Alborough) are a delight to encounter on the stage. Both actors are
utterly believable in conveying the inner turmoil of their characters
each faced with unexpected and unwanted life changing decisions. This
too stems from the strength and honesty of Weatherill the
playwright's incisive writing and no more so than the poignant scene
where Russ and Freddie meet at Freddie's home. The awkwardness of two
men who have gone from being friends to being very distant is
superbly realised by Easom and Alborough.
Chicken Dust is
altogether, a glorious, thought provoking play with very realistic
performances and one that definitely deserves to be seen. This
reviewer was wondering if the ninety minutes without an interval
would drag. Not a bit of it. It was totally engaging and sped by
faster than a chicken escaping the coop!
This review was originally published by The Public Reviews on May 3rd 2015
Author Roland Barthes
made a claim that the French mountain of Ventoux is a god of evil, to
which sacrifices must be made. In Ventoux the one act play by
Nottingham based 2Magpies Theatre they certainly make some exciting
and sweaty sacrifices in the name of art. Indeed, they take pedalling
theatre to a whole new meaning of brilliance and return triumphant
from the mountain at the end of the play. The performance is a true
tour de force.
Ventoux is a
devised live performance by 2Magpies Theatre who are being mentored
by New Perspectives, Curve and IdeasTap. The piece is part of the
Inside Out Festival of new writing at Curve Leicester. The
performance examines the rivalry of Tour De France gods Lance
Armstrong (USA) and 1998 Tour champion Marco 'Il Parati' Pantini, the
first, in total denial but facing major disgrace for using
performance enhancing drugs in the sport of cycling and the second,
now revered, eventually losing his life.
Ventoux is
directed by Matt Wilks with actors Tom Barnes as Pantani and Andy
Routledge as Armstrong. As the audience members arrive into the small
space of studio two we witness the two characters dressed in Lycra
limbering up and behaving in a repetitious and almost ritualistic
manner. Two racing bikes are on stage with the back wheels off the
ground supported by stands. At each end of the space are two big
screens one facing the other. There is no talking in this prelude
except Barnes as Pantani raising a wine bottle in the air and
periodically saying “Simpson” or “Tom”. This turns out to be
in honour of sports cyclist Tom Simpson who lost his life during the
1967 Tour.
When the play begins
both the actors playing the American and Italian speak in their
normal English voices. For the first few seconds this seems a little
surprising but actually the decision to speak this way gives a better
focus on the storytellers' words and loses nothing in the theatrical
impact.
The play makes
inventive use of some clever staging, projection, heart racing live
action and film footage of the increasingly steep road up the
capricious mountain. Initially we hear from each actor about their
characters' childhoods and their eventual desire to become winners in
the world of professional cycling. We also learn of their individuals
struggles to achieve their sporting glory. The story is about the
cost of great human passions as well as pedals and pumps.
During the whole
performance there are constant changes in the dynamic with the bikes
being ridden and manually relocated around the floor space. At times
the visual aspects become very symbolic with Pantani frantically
attaching small brown envelopes containing drug reports on the spokes
of Armstrong's bike. At times the action becomes punishingly surreal
as both performers begin to cycle barefoot towards the end of the
piece.
Last portion of Ventoux
One of two major themes
in the play is Armstrong's return to cycling after surviving
testicular cancer and Routledge demonstrates well Armstrong's
unwavering passion for his LiveStrong Foundation charity throughout.
There are some wry knowing smiles from the audience as he also
publicly claims to be drug free and protests the ridiculous notion
that he should abuse his own clean body with performance enhancing
drugs especially after his cancer survival.
The major story that we
hear of is that, in the year 2000 Tour De France, leaders Armstrong
and Pantani were well in front of the others on the Ventoux during
the mountain stage. After three kilometres with Armstrong leading
Pantani attacked late to win the stage. Armstrong didn't answer his
attack, content that in thinking that he'd distanced his closest
rivals and made winning his second Tour a little more certain. This
and the following information is conveyed to the audience through an
intriguing mix of text and visuals making the whole performance very
accessible and intriguing even if you have little interest in the
world of cycling. It is the human story that counts.
Thousand's of onlookers
had expected Armstrong to impose himself given the historical
significance of the mountain. The fact that Armstrong didn't sprint
deeply offended the hot headed Italian Pantani who thought that by
Armstrong giving him the stage he had failed to show proper respect
to himself as a former tour winner. He never forgave Armstrong and
went out of his way to make things difficult for Armstrong and his
team mates over the following days at the stage towards Courcheval.
This turned out to be Pantani's final win as a professional.
Pantani's story is brought vividly to life by actor Tom Barnes
through abstraction and direct conversations with the audience.
Historically, on the 14th February 2004 Pantani died alone
in a hotel as a result of a cerebral oedema and heart failure. An
inquest revealed acute cocaine poisoning. He had five times the
recommended levels of cocaine in his body.
Through Barnes and
Routledge's fantastic story telling skills and the particular style
of 2Magpies Theatre we are constantly engaged in this story of
cycling rivalry. There is much stamina involved in performing such a
masculine adrenalin soaked piece as Ventoux and
the acting fully demonstrates the passions of the sports stars and
their very human qualities and failures. Original audio commentary
from the actual gruelling race up the mountain road of Ventoux is
combined with the live cycling and screened visuals make this an
unusual but none-the-less vibrant piece of new theatre writing and
performance.