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| "Silver & Gould" Substance & Shadow Theatre Company Midge Mullin is Melvyn Gould Nathan Simpson is Leonard Silver Monday 6 June 7.00pm Wednesday 8 June 8.30pm |
An exciting festival of theatre starts tonight at the Cygnet New Theatre in Friar's Gate here in Exeter, tonight. Five theatre companies and three one-man shows will be performing between now and Saturday evening. Every evening this week there will be two theatre shows back-to-back, and on Saturday there will be two performances in the afternoon and two in the evening. A lot to look forward to.
The precise running order is as follows. (Note particularly that Running Dog Theatre will be performing "Wanna Dance with Somebody" at 8.15pm on Thursday - unlike the second act on each other evening's bill, all of which are at 8.30pm)
Monday 6 June 7.00pm Substance & Shadow "Silver & Gould"
8.30pm James Elston "Krapp's Last Tape"
Tuesday 7 June 7.00pm Running Dog "Wanna Dance with Somebody"
8.30pm Jordan Edgington "I am the Gladiator"
Wednesday 8 June 7.30pm Players Tokyo "Hecate's Poison"
8.30pm Substance & Shadow "Silver & Gould"
Thursday 9 June 7.00pm James Elston "Krapp's Last Tape"
8.15pm Running Dog "Wanna Dance with Somebody"
Friday 10 June 7.00pm Bianca Bertalot "Cinco Coisas"
8.30pm Players Tokyo "Hecate's Poison"
Saturday 11 June 2.00pm Bianca Bertalot "Cinco Coisas"
4.00pm Sun & Moon "Two Gentlemen of Verona"
7.00pm Jordan Edgington "I am the Gladiator"
8.45pm Tree Shadow "Lady Bracknell's Confinement"
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| Alistair Ganley Artistic Director Cygnet New Theatre |
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| Cygnet Student Band |
On Friday 13 May three of the acts taking part (highlighted above) came to the Cygnet to give a little preview of their performances at a free show (with free food!) Three of the students at Cygnet (which is a training theatre) formed an impromptu musical trio and entertained the audiences between acts with covers of various popular songs. Alistair Ganley (Cygnet Artistic Director) introduced the acts, all of which were very wonderful in their different ways.
First was Sun & Moon Theatre Company and their version of Shakespeare's "Two Gentlemen of Verona". The setting is a university in the United Kingdom (possibly Exeter) in the 1960's. The scene they had prepared for us included some familiar dialogue and soliloquy, and also a very energetic musical number with talented instrumentalists and some wonderful parts for solo voice.
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| Sun & Moon Theatre Company "Two Gentlemen of Verona" Shakespearean theatre with added song and dance |
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| Bianca Bertalot "Cinco Coisas" |
Next up was Bianca Bertalot. In Portuguese, the title of her piece is "Cinco Coisas" meaning "Five Things". Bianca, in Pierrot's pantaloons, appears to have a series of very pertinent things to tell the audience about life (specifically the five essentials for healthy development). Her appearance casts doubt on how sensible or useful her exposition will be. In the event the lecture degenerates into a confusing but hilarious dumb show, somewhat reminiscent of Harpo Marx at his most obtuse.
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| Bianca Bertalot Athletic Dance |
Bianca donned a clown's nose, helped herself ostentatiously to the food laid out for audience members, and after much prevarication, embarked on her explanation in mime and dance. Bianca is extremely athletic and the dance is very impressive, while at the same time being outrageously incomprehensible. This act requires extreme energy to bring off - energy which Bianca has is abundance, coupled with impressive comedic skill.
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| Nathan Simpson Len Silver returns |
Last on stage were Substance and Shadow Theatre Company introduced using placards by Substance and Shadow co-founder Rosie Mullin - somewhat in the style of a boxing 'ring girl' dressed in gold lamé. The first contestant on stage was Nathan Simpson, returning to his very engaging character 'Len Silver'. Len is a grasping entrepreneur from Birmingham who first appeared on stage in the Substance & Shadow production "Duplicity" in 2014.
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| Instantly recognisable Nathan Simpson is the West Midland Wiseguy Leonard Silver |
Len now appears to be down on his luck, and sits at home watching daytime television in his dressing gown, reacting to a programme which the audience cannot see. A letter arrives, and Len is surprised to discover that his mother has died, possibly leaving a little something for him in her will. A new character, Len's cousin Melvyn Gould played by Midge Mullin, then joins Len in the next act to watch a videoed last will and testament made by Len's mother.
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| Midge Mullin is Melvyn Gould Len phones to relay the news - in a perfectly mimed telephone call (Rosie Mullin waits in the wings) |
Melvyn is a very engaging character, gentle and unpretentious. Whereas Len is waiting impatiently to hear what he will get, Melvyn responds to his aunt's words by reminiscing fondly about his happy memories of the woman herself. The disjointed conversation which results, punctuated by the continuing and ultimately disappointing message from Auntie Elsie, is reminiscent of Harold Pinter at his most confrontational.
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Reminiscence & Acquisitiveness perfectly mis-matched (Midge Mullin & Nathan Simpson) |
The bequest, when it is finally announced, could not have been more galling for Len. Between them Len and Melvyn receive only a set of darts - which go to Melvyn.
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| Melvyn's delight & Len's disappointment a telling contrast (Midge Mullin & Nathan Simpson) |
Inventive as ever Len then immediately begins to hatch a plot to use the darts to take part in Jim Bowen's ITV game show "Bullseye" (which dates the action to the 1980s), with the express intention of leaving with the star prize.
The scene is set. Now read on . . .
The scene is set. Now read on . . .
Midge and Nathan are on top form, their characters are beautifully conceived by the writers (Midge & Rosie Mullin) and just as beautifully realised by Midge and Nathan on stage. Comic, but realistic and totally believable, Substance and Shadow's new pairing will be well worth a visit.
Below are the official listings from the Cygnet Website, in company order. Viewed either way, this list offers a tempting selection of treats for the week ahead. For those unable to manage all the productions, it will be quite a job to choose between these fabulous acts.
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Substance & Shadow Theatre Company
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Midge Mullin is Melvyn Gould
Nathan Simpson is Leonard Silver
(Photography: Matt Austin Images)
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(as part of 'Festival at Cygnet')
Monday 6 June 7pm
Wednesday 8 June 8.30pm
"SILVER & GOULD"
Leonard Silver: Nathan Simpson
Melvyn Gould: Midge Mullin
Tickets: £8.00
Box Office: 01392 277189
Press Release from Rosie Mullin.
Running Dog TheatreCygnet New Theatre
Tuesday 7 June 7pm
Thursday 9 June 8.15pm
"WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY"
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Players TokyoCygnet New Theatre
Wednesday 8 June 7pm
Friday 10 June 8.30pm
"HECATE'S POISON"
(an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth")
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Tree Shadow TheatreCygnet New Theatre
Saturday 11 June 8.45pm
"LADY BRACKNELL'S CONFINEMENT"
(inspired by Oscar Wilde's
"The Importance of Being Ernest"
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James ElstonCygnet New Theatre
Monday 6 June 8.30pm
Thursday 9 June 7pm
"KRAPP'S LAST TAPE"
Jordan EdgingtonCygnet New Theatre
Tuesdsay 7 June 8.30m
Saturday 11 June7pm
"I AM THE GLADIATOR"
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| Bianca Bertalot |
Bianca Bertalot
Cygnet New Theatre
Friday 10 June 7pm
Saturday 11 June 2pm
"CINCO COISAS"
(Portuguese: "Five Things")
The 5 basic development needs
of a child represented in dance
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Sun & Moon Theatre
Cygnet New Theatre
Saturday 11 June 4pm
"THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA"
(set in the 1960s at Exeter University)Valentine: David Johnson
Julia: Melissa Barrett
Silvia: Morwenna Towns
Speed/Pantina/outlaw: Hannah Clancy
Turio/Lance/outlaw: George Bradley
Lucegga/host/outlaw: Jessica Holyoake
Duke of Milan/Antonio: Emerson Pike
Proteus: Gianni D'Attoma
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