Twelfth Night Press
Shakespeare, Smiths and squaddies
There's more new theatre at the Alma Tavern this spring, kicking off with a production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, set in the dark and dangerous world of underground Berlin.
RoughHouse Theatre promises a version of Twelfth Night, "as you've never seen it before," inspired by German cabaret and mixing live musical performances with classic Shakespearean text.
Established in Sydney in 2000 - and now relocated to Bristol - RoughHouse, under the direction of Shane Morgan and Moira Hunt, aims to produce classical theatre, rarely performed plays and support new writers.
After winning a critic's prize at the Sydney Fringe Festival and becoming resident company at the Crypt Theatre in New South Wales, Shane and Moira relocated to Bristol and Twelfth Night is RoughHouse's first show in the UK.
You can catch it at the Alma from 29 January – 16 February with a Valentines Special price on 14 February of two tickets for £10.
BBC Bristol Preview Article 20/01/08
Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night has always been one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies. The magic ingredients of mistaken identity, unrequited love and confusion set against a backdrop of music and romance have drawn in audiences down the centuries.
But a new production at the Alma Tavern, Clifton, aims to put a different spin on the play. Shane Morgan, the director of the new version by the Roughhouse Theatre Company, says: “I think some productions have concentrated too much on the comic element and not brought out the tragedy enough. You’re dealing with themes of persecution, separation and humiliation. What happens to Malvolio is incredibly dark. They humiliate him in front of the person he admires the most, they imprison him, they literally drive him towards madness.”
So cue an altogether darker version of the play, set in 1930s Berlin. “It’s an era that’s always interested me,” says Morgan. “And for me, the era and the show have always gone hand in hand.” Morgan’s version is not without its lighter moments. “There is still the comedy but, with every comic moment, you need the tragic side to balance that,” he adds. And there’s also the distinctive cabaret music. “I’ve always loved the music of that era. I think it lends itself to the play.”
It’s the Roughhouse Theatre’s first production in the UK – Morgan and his partner, Moira Hunt, relocated to Bristol in 2005 from Australia – and it’s a brave move to tackle such an unconventional piece. “The concept has been rattling around in my head for years,” says Morgan, “and when I saw the space (at the Alma Tavern), I thought it lends itself to an intimate, cabaret-style show.”
Morgan has always had strong links to the region, having spent most of his life traveling between the UK and Australia, and attending the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff. And he’s glad he made the leap to live here full-time. “My partner and I always talked about coming here to work, “ he enthuses. “The arts scene here is amazing. Sydney is much more orientated towards film and TV but here theatre is almost in the blood.”
Reinterpreting classic texts is nothing new for Roughhouse. As the resident theatre company at the Crypt Theatre in New South Wales, it focused on putting a fresh spin on well-known works. And the strategy paid off with the company performing to packed houses for Joe Orton’s ‘Loot’ and Dario Fo’s ‘Can’t Pay!? Won’t Pay!?’
So it will be interesting to see if Morgan’s new production achieves his ambition of balancing the classic comic elements of the play with the darker themes that are sometimes overlooked.
The Metro - Preview - 30/01/08
Twelfth Night ****
By setting Shakespeare's gender-bending comedy in 1930s Berlin, RoughHouse Theatre attempts to turn Twelfth Night into a darker play. In reality the Bristol Company's production is just rip-roaring good fun.
There are strong performances all round, particularly Emily Lawrence as Viola who, after being rescued from a shipwreck, disguises herself as a man in order to work for the duke Orsino. Adrian Harris as Malvolio provides the most hilarity when he whips off his trousers to reveal kinky yellow stockings. Anna Westlake makes Feste, originally a male role, genuinely complex and mysterious.
The only missed opportunity is the music. With a banjo, accordion, double bass and two guitars on stage it’s a shame the instruments are only combined to make rousing music as the play ends.
John Holmes - Theatre Review
Twelfth Night ***
Even while Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory are gearing up for 'Taming of the Shrew' in their BS3 'cockpit', RoughHouse Theatre - newcomers to Bristol but with a decent previous in Australia - get even more intimate with 'Twelfth Night' at the Alma. As Shakespeares go, it's good for a pub ('King Lear' might be more of a challenge): the action's manageably domestic and, thanks to the reliably pissed Toby Belch, there's some serious boozing going on.
RoughHouse pick on this drinking-den theme and give their production a touch of 1930's Berlin (wine bottles, black waistcoats, bowler hats) but actually this is a red herring. The routinely misidentified Cesario looks like a golf caddy and there's no particular sense of decadence, impending war or, indeed, Nazism. In theory it's a concept with legs - 'Twelfth Night' is Shakespeare's entirely prescient stab at the kind of puritanism favoured by fruitcake dictators - but here it looks more like a wasted opportunity: Adrian Harris' Malvolio is simply too engaging for him to represent the evil new order.
That said there's plenty to enjoy here. The Belch-centred sub-plot dominates - thanks largely to some snappy interaction between Rob Benson's Belch, Carrie-Anne Lewis' Maria, Anna Westlake's Feste and Gerard Cooke's long-wristed and inevitably 'Mr Bean' recalling Aguecheek - but Emily Lawrence's Viola/Cesario has a hands-in-pockets insouciance which contrasts nicely with both Tom Turner's stiff-upper-lipped Orsino and Moira Hunt's flappy Olivia, and explains why she/he seems such an attractive oddity in Illyria. The Options? Go see the play, ignore the setting.
Tom Phillips - Venue Magazine - Review - 07/02/08
Two Pints of Lager and a Ticket Upstairs Please
Ann Stiddard and Alison Comley, climb up the creaking side stairs of the Alma Tavern, Clifton and, at the top, they step inside another world - their black-walled, 53-seat theatre. Ann and Alison are the joint artistic directors of Theatre West, a venture they launched 10 years ago. This Bristol theatre-in-a-pub is, says Ann, "their baby". Then, like any proud parents, they start to check everything's ok with it.This involves looking at everything from the seating, the bank of lights and the recent stage layout of the stage. From their little "baby", about 30 world premieres have emerged as well as masses of adventurous new writing. The pair are passionate about every aspect of it.
This month, for example, there's a UK premiere of Fragile Theatre Partnership's, Fat Shirley's - A Trailer Park Opera. That's followed by its production of The Devil And Mr Johnson, exploring the life and turbulent times of Delta blues legend, Robert Johnson. This is one little theatre that's certainly big on experimentation.
For the production of Roughouse Theatre's Twelfth Night, the stage backdrop is clad in deep scarlet. On the wooden floor sits a curvy cello, part-balanced on a ladderback chair for a Cabaret-esque retelling of Shakespeare's classic comedy, set in decadent 1930s' Berlin.
The nearby actors' changing room must be a battleground for the company's 11-strong cast. It's about the size of an enlarged cupboard. There's a tiny separate loo, outside which actors costumes hang neatly. A step away are piles of acting paraphernalia - costume jewellery, hats, make-up and two halves of a coconut strewn in front of the smudged, wall-length mirror. Lastly a teetering row of empty booze bottles stand along the frosted windowsill. You can easily imagine the frenetic chaos.
A decade ago, this was just part of a neglected function room and, back then, Alison and Ann were putting their plays on at the Showboat pub, in Gloucester Road. The pair worked wonders persuading the Alma Tavern's previous owners to transform the redundant space into a tiny theatre and they are delighted the pub's present proprietors are happy to back them, too.
The Alma Tavern Theatre began at a slow burn with just two or three productions a year. But now there's a feast of drama on almost year-round. With audiences boosted by the temporary closure of the Old Vic, hungry culture vultures are flocking to the Alma Tavern because they can pick up dinner downstairs, followed by drama up upstairs. "Our aim is to sustain quality drama, along with comedy, bold new writing and world premieres" Ann explains.
"Writers who've made a name for themselves here, have successfully gone on to other theatres and television." Alison muses: "One day someone who has acted here might get an Oscar." And while they both laugh, it could easily come true. The pair set up a Search For A Script challenge and were inundated by new writers keen to see their words leap off the page and on to stage. But an Arts Council cash squeeze means there have been cuts to showing new works.
The pair set up Theatre West 16 years ago and now organise 10 weeks of production at the Alma Tavern throughout the autumn season, leaving other companies to fill the gaps during the rest of the year. Their seamless conversations and laughter testify to their 20-year long friendship and they are both passionate about seeking out new writing. When they aren't at the Alma or working, they love nothing more than taking their theatre company to Latvia and, so far, they've been on three tours.
Ann explains: "We were invited to a festival over there because there's a big Latvian community in Bristol and although there was a distinct language problem, we by-passed that by putting on a visual play about the World Cup. Mind you, their English - even in tiny villages - is fine. "We did tackle some Latvian words, which actually produced the most laughs with the audience because we pronounced them so badly."
I ask if they work in the theatre full-time, but their answer is "no". Alison explains: "This is done for love. I work for Bristol City Council and Ann's a self-employed graphic designer. "The Alma Tavern Theatre's a great place for new theatre companies. This is a unique pub theatre and we're very proud of it." And so they should be, now their baby has grown into a 10-year-old.
Mel Greenwood