Post by NorthernAlien on Oct 3, 2019 9:08:21 GMT
I saw this last night, in the basement of Bolton Library, one of the temporary spaces being used by the Octagon whilst it undergoes it's refurb.
I hadn't managed to catch the play when it was first out, but knew it was Maxine Peake's first script - Maxine was in the youth theatre at the Octagon when a teenager, something the flyer for this makes mention of. The theatre space in the library is considerably smaller than the main space at the Octagon was - I was told this space seats about 170, and this was maybe 40% full last night, although many performances have all but sold out.
I thoroughly enjoyed this - the story was great, and the 4 actors, all multi-rolling with immense skill, really took the audience with them. I think it helps that the whole thing comes across as thoroughly northern - even the quips about Lancashire being lesser than Yorkshire were received well. It really is an absolute travesty that Beryl Burton isn't better known - a fact referred to in an early moment of breaking the 4th wall.
Indeed, due to the constraints of the library space, the 4th wall never really exists here - with biking scenes being staged effectively amongst the audience. There's also a tiny moment of audience participation - but it involves everyone, rather than any one person being singled out.
A huge kudos to the Octagon team for not just going dark during the refurb, and for putting shows on in various locations around the town centre - it's very difficult to do, and currently being made harder by the uncertainty surrounding Bolton Wanderers, whose stadium some shows are scheduled to be performed at. The library theatre clearly has absolutely no technical facilities - spaces in the outside corridor had been taped off for pre-show prop storage, there was a props table in a part of the theatre, and the back of the performance space was also used for prop storage as the show progressed. This necessitated the actors transferring props from the storage area, to the auditorium before the show started, and the actors spoke to the audience both then and before the second act started. The whole thing felt very informal, relaxed and just really friendly. The venue 'box office' is two people sat behind a small table, and the bar is in a side room, cash only, and also basically two people behind a table. As a theatre experience, it was one of the nicest I've had this year.
If you're in the northwest, and can get to see this show before it closes on October 19th, I'd recommend it. There's an 'Investigate Day' this Saturday (5th October). I've been to some of these for Octagon shows before, and they're usually really interesting.
I hadn't managed to catch the play when it was first out, but knew it was Maxine Peake's first script - Maxine was in the youth theatre at the Octagon when a teenager, something the flyer for this makes mention of. The theatre space in the library is considerably smaller than the main space at the Octagon was - I was told this space seats about 170, and this was maybe 40% full last night, although many performances have all but sold out.
I thoroughly enjoyed this - the story was great, and the 4 actors, all multi-rolling with immense skill, really took the audience with them. I think it helps that the whole thing comes across as thoroughly northern - even the quips about Lancashire being lesser than Yorkshire were received well. It really is an absolute travesty that Beryl Burton isn't better known - a fact referred to in an early moment of breaking the 4th wall.
Indeed, due to the constraints of the library space, the 4th wall never really exists here - with biking scenes being staged effectively amongst the audience. There's also a tiny moment of audience participation - but it involves everyone, rather than any one person being singled out.
A huge kudos to the Octagon team for not just going dark during the refurb, and for putting shows on in various locations around the town centre - it's very difficult to do, and currently being made harder by the uncertainty surrounding Bolton Wanderers, whose stadium some shows are scheduled to be performed at. The library theatre clearly has absolutely no technical facilities - spaces in the outside corridor had been taped off for pre-show prop storage, there was a props table in a part of the theatre, and the back of the performance space was also used for prop storage as the show progressed. This necessitated the actors transferring props from the storage area, to the auditorium before the show started, and the actors spoke to the audience both then and before the second act started. The whole thing felt very informal, relaxed and just really friendly. The venue 'box office' is two people sat behind a small table, and the bar is in a side room, cash only, and also basically two people behind a table. As a theatre experience, it was one of the nicest I've had this year.
If you're in the northwest, and can get to see this show before it closes on October 19th, I'd recommend it. There's an 'Investigate Day' this Saturday (5th October). I've been to some of these for Octagon shows before, and they're usually really interesting.
