April - by Hermetic Arts
Hermetic Arts, the team behind last year’s Unburied, returns to the Vaults Festival with a black comedy delivered in monologue by the eponymous April (“Positive Thinking guru for the YouTube generation”).
On arrival in the auditorium, several members of the audience were handed pieces of paper onto which they were encouraged to describe the things they worry most about. These were collected, before April made her entrance to a pounding track reminiscent of Daft Punk. The audience was then treated to an hour long sermon of surface-level psychobabble, with April extolling the virtues of positivity, wellness and letting go of bad thoughts. It put us rather in mind of Paris Hilton providing tips for dealing with stress and anxiety.
The comedy runs throughout, with references ranging from chaos magic to Noel Edmonds, as we discover that Mr Blobby was an entity created by Edmonds who took on a life of his own, resulting in THAT number one single that we were still trying to get out of our minds 12 hours later (sidebar: if you are too young to remember THAT song, please, do yourself a favour and avoid it at all costs).
Of course, we had the pre-requisite audience participation, with various members being called to the stage to read their confessions, and April provided unique ways of dealing with them, which appeared to prove both amusing and excruciating for those involved. Thankfully, this wasn’t stretched out and plenty of people were clearly relieved to not be called upon.
Overall, the production is tight with a fast-paced script and some clever ideas, while the studied performance by writer and actor Carrie Marx demonstrated equal moments of lightness and insanity. We did feel the subjects discussed became somewhat confused at times, and we came away with a sense of “wha…?” rather than “wow!” as we felt after Unburied, but it is clear Hermetic Arts is made up of some seriously talented artistes and we very much look forward to seeing what comes out of their twisted minds next!
On arrival in the auditorium, several members of the audience were handed pieces of paper onto which they were encouraged to describe the things they worry most about. These were collected, before April made her entrance to a pounding track reminiscent of Daft Punk. The audience was then treated to an hour long sermon of surface-level psychobabble, with April extolling the virtues of positivity, wellness and letting go of bad thoughts. It put us rather in mind of Paris Hilton providing tips for dealing with stress and anxiety.
The comedy runs throughout, with references ranging from chaos magic to Noel Edmonds, as we discover that Mr Blobby was an entity created by Edmonds who took on a life of his own, resulting in THAT number one single that we were still trying to get out of our minds 12 hours later (sidebar: if you are too young to remember THAT song, please, do yourself a favour and avoid it at all costs).
Of course, we had the pre-requisite audience participation, with various members being called to the stage to read their confessions, and April provided unique ways of dealing with them, which appeared to prove both amusing and excruciating for those involved. Thankfully, this wasn’t stretched out and plenty of people were clearly relieved to not be called upon.
Overall, the production is tight with a fast-paced script and some clever ideas, while the studied performance by writer and actor Carrie Marx demonstrated equal moments of lightness and insanity. We did feel the subjects discussed became somewhat confused at times, and we came away with a sense of “wha…?” rather than “wow!” as we felt after Unburied, but it is clear Hermetic Arts is made up of some seriously talented artistes and we very much look forward to seeing what comes out of their twisted minds next!
Unburied - by Hermetic Arts
There are two things we love: great ghost stories and dreadful 70's kids TV shows. Combine the two in one live performance and we're hooked! Unburied, as part of the annual Vaults Festival in Waterloo, has done just this in a well written and cleverly realised theatrical performance.
On entering the auditorium, the audience is faced with a barren stage dominated by a projector screen looming behind it. The stage itself is dressed with a desk featuring a laptop and microphone, a chair to stage right and a standing microphone to stage left. Behind the desk, a young woman drinks from a takeaway cup of coffee. As the lights adjust, we are addressed, and the explanation for the evening is forthcoming. We are to witness the second episode of a recording for a 5-part podcast exploring a lost six-part children's folk horror TV show from 1978 named "Unburied". The show was written, cast and recorded but never aired and the tapes are now missing, presumed destroyed.
Our narrator, Carrie, explains that she has already recorded the first episode of her podcast during the previous evening's show and provides a recap of what was covered. She is verging on obsessed with finding out what happened to this obscure TV show, believing there must be more to its disappearance than the standard self-imposed austerity measures of 70's TV production in recording over previously used tapes, and has spent a year uncovering information on what really happened.
Through the course of the next 40 minutes, the audience is treated to a prose-laden monologue which, although at times confusing, layers itself into a gripping ghost story reaching back into the 1800's, detailing the deaths of anyone who got too close to the truth. Through a rolling slideshow and archive recordings we are given evidence of what is clearly a deeper conspiracy, and as the pages of Penny Dreadfuls give way to facts found on the Dark Web, the sense of anticipation grows, rushing towards not one, but two crescendos. Then... well, we can't tell you what happened then!
This one-woman show captivates its audience from the start and doesn't let up until the very end. The casting was perfect; the lead, indeed only, actor on stage resembled a cross between Rachel Parris and Caitlin Snow, both brainy and witty without trying, instantly putting the audience at ease and pulling them into the story. The writing as mentioned above was somewhat prosaic at times, but this, together with the delivery, suited the staging and subject by replicating the style of an amateur radio broadcast. The themes of curses, fires, deaths and a ghostly, grotesque figure appearing throughout history were deftly juxtaposed with anecdotes about current politics, internet memes and how Doctor Who was so awful in the 80's. The result is a production which leaves the audience amused but thoughtful, entertained and somehow inspired to uncover another mystery. We look forward to seeing what else this talented company can offer in the future.
On entering the auditorium, the audience is faced with a barren stage dominated by a projector screen looming behind it. The stage itself is dressed with a desk featuring a laptop and microphone, a chair to stage right and a standing microphone to stage left. Behind the desk, a young woman drinks from a takeaway cup of coffee. As the lights adjust, we are addressed, and the explanation for the evening is forthcoming. We are to witness the second episode of a recording for a 5-part podcast exploring a lost six-part children's folk horror TV show from 1978 named "Unburied". The show was written, cast and recorded but never aired and the tapes are now missing, presumed destroyed.
Our narrator, Carrie, explains that she has already recorded the first episode of her podcast during the previous evening's show and provides a recap of what was covered. She is verging on obsessed with finding out what happened to this obscure TV show, believing there must be more to its disappearance than the standard self-imposed austerity measures of 70's TV production in recording over previously used tapes, and has spent a year uncovering information on what really happened.
Through the course of the next 40 minutes, the audience is treated to a prose-laden monologue which, although at times confusing, layers itself into a gripping ghost story reaching back into the 1800's, detailing the deaths of anyone who got too close to the truth. Through a rolling slideshow and archive recordings we are given evidence of what is clearly a deeper conspiracy, and as the pages of Penny Dreadfuls give way to facts found on the Dark Web, the sense of anticipation grows, rushing towards not one, but two crescendos. Then... well, we can't tell you what happened then!
This one-woman show captivates its audience from the start and doesn't let up until the very end. The casting was perfect; the lead, indeed only, actor on stage resembled a cross between Rachel Parris and Caitlin Snow, both brainy and witty without trying, instantly putting the audience at ease and pulling them into the story. The writing as mentioned above was somewhat prosaic at times, but this, together with the delivery, suited the staging and subject by replicating the style of an amateur radio broadcast. The themes of curses, fires, deaths and a ghostly, grotesque figure appearing throughout history were deftly juxtaposed with anecdotes about current politics, internet memes and how Doctor Who was so awful in the 80's. The result is a production which leaves the audience amused but thoughtful, entertained and somehow inspired to uncover another mystery. We look forward to seeing what else this talented company can offer in the future.
Links:
The Vault Festival website
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