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Now That’s What I Call Ubu |
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Castaway Community Theatre |
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Aberystwyth Arts Centre |
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May 12, 2009 |
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After the last production by Castaway Community Theatre Company I was excited to see their latest offering of the story of Ubu. I had been warned that it was a bit strange and this could never be truer. The opening of the piece started with the Esteemed Leader (Denis Lennon) wearing a green t-shirt with “I am the boss” hand written in it. Marching proudly to the centre of the stage and in a big powerful voice his first words were “Bananas of the world unite!” This really set the mood for the entire piece directed by David Blumfield as we were dragged into a chaotic, fun filled place where reason and rationality does not exist, and what we are left with instead is simply a sense of madness.Combining all the Ubu stories, this production tells the story of Ma and Pa Ubu, their rise to power by killing King Wenceslas and the downfall of Pa Ubu, by too high taxation, greed and madness. At this point I started to lose the story myself. For the Ubu Enchained section, the cast switched roles, and this told the story of Ubu’s “escape” from prison, and finally the death of Pa Ubu. I think. The reason why I say I think is because; as mentioned in the directors notes “This is Punk Rock Theatre”. It was a rebellion against the norm, and this piece truly was. There is no real way to tell what exactly happened that night which left the audience confused, puzzled, yet highly entertained. The set for this piece was quite extravagant, a raised platform with a “pop culture” style drawing of a face, half man, half woman which was repeated behind a toilet. There was also a raised section of scaffolding which was used well for multiple purposes. Sound (David Blumfield) was fitting to this Punk Rock image, as well as the simple lighting designs (Duncan Gough). Demonstrating the unusual nature of this piece, the choice of weapons used by the cast was mainly air guitar and once a character had died they stood up, jumping off stage shouting “I’m Alive”. While this was hilarious at first it became tiresome and by the end of the production, all humour from this action had been unfortunately drained. There were also a lot of “inside jokes” used, such as mentioning the piece was almost pantomimic and that all it needed was “David Blumfield as the Dame” or some parts of warm-ups that I recognised from studying with Blumfield. These did not detract from the humour though, but just added to the craziness of the night. Regarding the characters, this in itself was confusing in many areas. Ma and Pa Ubu were both cast as 5 or 6 parts, each person having their own individual take on the character. This then changed during the Ubu Enchained section, when the actors swapped roles. This was good in some ways as it showed different parts of the persons psyche, but at the same time some of the actors did not develop their characters fully, leading to some shallow acting and under-developed thoughts. Some of the actors playing Ma and Pa Ubu shone through, Tom Thorogood for example played a wonderful Pa Ubu, sinister and menacing even down to his abstract walk. The multiple casting created the humorous ending of Pa Ubu coming to kill himself in an “I’m Spartacus” style, although this was slightly overplayed. With such a large ensemble cast like this one, it is hard to pinpoint good characters, as roles were swapped so often, and many people played many parts. So instead I shall mention certain actors that really stood out in this production for me. Denis Lennon was brilliant in his numerous roles especially that of the short Corporal Pissweet, and Rhys Kelly as the MaNure characters was humorous and creative. The Resipsa Lockiter Cast too were well played and all credit should be given to them, as they brought a lot of humour and style to what could have been some dry areas. I know that for many people who read this review, most of this probably will not make much sense. But when trying to write a review for something that does not intend to make sense in the first place, this randomness is the outcome. Now That’s What I Call Ubu is an enjoyable and fun filled piece, great entertainment and a good laugh. While this may not be the best production Castaway have done, for sheer entertainment alone this is a brilliant piece. I would highly recommend watching Castaway Community Theatres next production as you can be guaranteed it will be a great night out! I wish them all the best in their next venture. |
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| David Taylor | |
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