What's On 27th May - 2nd June

Desert and The Roland Piece - The Bike Shed Theatre
Both plays are by the MolinoGroup and they are alternating their performances. So Tuesday and Thursday it's the new draft performance about war artist Roland Penrose. Wednesday and Friday are the final performances of 'Desert' dramatising Bradley Manning's time in pre-trial detention and the events that led him there.
All performances start at 7.30pm.
Tickets £7-10
(I've already seen Desert, I'll be seeing The Roland Piece later this week)

Dancing at Lughnasa - The Cygnet New Theatre
Cygnet's first play for the new season, about poverty and life in 1930s rural Ireland.
Running each evening until Saturday, 7.30pm.
Tickets £6-10

Varmints and The Elves and the Shoemaker - Exeter Northcott
It's a week for children's theatre at the Northcott. Varmints tells the story of a small creature trying to preserve his world from the entrouching city. The Elves and the Shoemaker updates the classic tale, with puppets.
Varmints is Tuesday, 3pm and 7pm. The Elves and the Shoemaker is Wednesday 3pm Thursday - Friday, 11am and 3pm.
Tickets £10-12.50

Desert

'Desert' by MolinoGroup, The Bike Shed Theatre

This was an interesting play to watch as, for me at least, it acted more as a launching platform to find out more about the Bradley Manning case than a conventional self-contained-story.

Desert was premiered last year at the Bike Shed, it has returned with an updated version as Manning has now spent over 1000 days in pre-trial detention and should be put on trial properly next month.

I know very little about the Manning case, the same as our narrator at the beginning of the play. We then follow her progress as she delves into the information available, tracing Manning's actions and talking to him about why he leaking classified US army intelligence. The story blends real-life transcripts and video with imagined scenes. I'm not sure if its an advantage or not that for some scenes I'm not sure if they were recreations of real events or fictitious. From their portrayal Manning doesn't seem particularly likeable, he seems awkward and a bit messed-up, but he is intriguing and as the narrator weaves her way through the story its clear that no-one is quite sure where it will end up.

It's a play that really gets you thinking - why did he have that much access to sensitive information? Was Lamo justified in turning him in? And most importantly, what would you have done in Manning's place?

****

Desert continues until Saturday, 7.30pm each evening. Tickets £7-10

Collecting/Hoarding

Does anyone else keep a scrapbook of theatre tickets? Before this blog it was my main way to keep track of all the shows I'd seen. I've also got odd bits stuck in there, like the gold coin that rolled right up to me at.the edge of the stage during Antony and Cleopatra.
Or perhaps you go further and neatly keep all the play programmes? Anyone else steal little bits of the props? Or am I being a hoarder?

What's On 20th - 26th May 2013

Dancing at Lughnasa - Cygnet New Theatre
Set in rural 1930s Ireland with the ancient festival of Lughnasa, Michael returns home to his extended family trapped in poverty but hoping to find love and dancing.
Starts on Friday 24th, 7.30pm, runs until 1 June next week
Tickets £6-10
(I'll be adding this to my diary - plus I love the poster)

Desert - The Bike Shed Theatre
An exploration of the story and events behind Bradley Manning, the American army analyst who allegedly leaked sensitive information to the website WikiLeaks.
Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm
Tickets £7-10
(Definitely interested in this one)

The Roland Piece - The Bike Shed Theatre
A draft of The MolinoGroup's new piece on the relationship between artists and war, focusing on British artist Roland Penrose's work during World War 2.
Matinee on Saturday at 2pm, then the play runs in the evenings next week.
Tickets £5
(I think I'll catch this next week)

Ignite: Exeter's Festival of Theatre

I've been a bit slow reporting this, but here it is - the Ignite Festival 2013 programme is now available!

You can check out all the show details on the official website: www.igniteexeter.org.uk
You can also pick up the brochure at good arts venues around the city.

I'll be rushing around like a mad thing seeing as many shows as I can, I think I have about 20 shows marked on my copy of the programme (luckily I've blagged myself a press pass to get in for free). Goodness knows what state I'll be in by the end of the week!

Let Poetry In To Your Life

Why don't more people go to poetry gigs?
Twice in as many weeks now I have been at under-attended poetry performances, and both times the shows were great! I've heard poems about epic Viking adventures, flamingos, drug addiction, Helen of Troy, nature's cruelty, the realisation that your parents were once young, and a poem made entirely of three letter words.

Both evenings were part of the Roving Poetry Festival and so featured a selection of poets, ensuring there was great variety each night. There was something for everyone - and yet, everyone was elsewhere. Why is that?

Do we not feel an evening of poetry is worth £10? Have we all had poetry ruined for us in the dissection of high school English classes? Do we fear that we aren't clever enough to 'get' it? Are we afraid to let poetry into our lives?

48 hour musical

Tonight is the performance of a brand new musical, written, rehearsed, directed and performed all within 48 hours. The promo photo of a grown up and fed up Snow White looks intriguing. I wish I could go, but I have to work :(

It's being held at the University of Exeter. Search for the event on FaceBook under 'Shotlights 48 hour musical' for more details. 

What's On 13th - 19th

I Was A Rat! - Exeter Northcott Theatre
The first theatrical production of Phillip Pullman's book by the same name about a boy who used to be a rat before turning up on a married couple's doorstep.
Wednesday - Saturday, check the website for times
Tickets £12.50


Lucifer Saved - The Bike Shed Theatre
This is the last week of this play of tragedies and war 'heroes' at the Bike Shed. There are also two more Roving Theatre Poetry Nights - Tuesday and Thursday.
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 7pm
Tickets £7-10


The Ringmaster - Barnfield Theatre
A community performance about a circus where not all is smoke and mirrors.
Saturday and Sunday, 7.30pm.
Tickets £3-5

NB: The performances of 'The Restoration Project' at the Barnfield Theatre have been cancelled

Sound Bite

'Sound Bite' at the Barnfield Theatre, Exeter

At the beginning the two NASA press officers in charge of composing Neil Armstrong's first words on the moon reminded me of Lister and Rimmer from Red Dwarf, one uninterested in his work and the other trying too hard. But they become more complex as we learn more about their backgrounds through the discussions and arguments that occur whilst they are supposed to be working.

The play cleverly makes jokes about the past, and what we have learnt about those times with the benefit of hindsight, but it's central theme is about drawing parallels between the landing on the moon and the feminist movement, which I'd never considered before.

Whilst the comedy (and the American accents) faltered at times the good moments outweighed the bad. The acting was a bit stiff at the beginning but I'll put that down to opening night nerves, as they improved once they warmed up.

Staged with audience space for less than 30 people, set close to the stage, you feel the claustrophobia as the clock ticks on, and the play teases you, dropping odd words or phrases for Armstrong's finished line until you find yourself thinking "come on, you're so close!"

All in all, this play wasn't outstanding but it was enjoyable and I'd recommend it if you have an evening free.

***

Sound Bite continues through Saturday, 8pm. Tickets £5-7

Venus & Adonis

'Venus & Adonis' at Shakespeare's Globe, London 

Better critics than I can tell you about the amazing Isango Ensemble performance of Shakespeare's poem 'Venus & Adonis', performed in a mix of six languages and featuring magnificent singing and music. But one thing I particularly noted about the story was the reversal to our modern gender-based roles in a love story.

Modern music, TV and films are filled with the story of:
boy meets girl, girl isn't interested, boy keeps pestering and following girl (because surely she can't actually mean 'no', she's just playing hard-to-get), and eventually girl gives in - or rather realises the folly of her ways and boys true love.

But in Venus & Adonis these roles are reversed. It's Venus who keeps harrasing Adonis when he refuses her romantic advances. And, interestingly, it has a very difference result to our modern stories.

What's On 6th - 12th

Sound Bite - Barnfield Theatre
July 1969 and the men responsible for composing Neil Armstrong's first words on the moon have writers block.
Wednesday - Saturday, 8pm
Tickets £5 - 7
(I'm considering seeing this)

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (revised) - Exeter Northcott Theatre
A comedic run-through of all the bard's plays condensed into an hour and a half.
Friday 10th only, 6pm and 9pm
Tickets £16 - 18

Lucifer Saved continues at The Bike Shed Theatre
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, with poetry beforehand, 7pm
On Tuesday and Thursday the same production company are hosting poetry nights with invited artists, including Alice Oswald and Jackie Juno.

Tickets £7 - 10

What's On 1st-5th May

Guys and Dolls - Exeter Northcott Theatre
The Exeter Musical Society are putting on this classic Tony award winning musical about gambling and love. Monday - Saturday 7.30pm, and a matinee at 2.30pm on Saturday.
Tickets £12.50-18.50

Lucifer Saved - The Bike Shed Theatre
A tale of WW2 veterans struggling to remember and trying to forget.
Friday & Saturday - 7pm. It's also on various dates for the next two weeks, with poetry sessions mixed in.
Tickets £5-10