Last month I packed my bags and travelled 300 miles across the country to spend a full week attending the theatre. Chichester Festival theatre, and its younger sister The Minera, are world renowned for the quality of shows they put on. During the summer months the theatre produces all of the shows they put on which is a rarety in this current economic downturn, especially when you consider the costs of producing your own plays. Additionally, Chichester puts on its shows in rep so that visitors to the area like me can watch alot of theatrics in a short amount of time. And so, 3 plays, a musical and a theatre tour later it was time to look back and reflect on my week of cultural heaven.
The first play that I watched was called Grapes of Wrath, which is directed by Chichesters Artistic Director, and based on a John Steinbeck novel of the same name. Set in the American mid-west in the 1940's, Grapes tells the story of an ordinary American familys quest to travel the country to California, where they are promised work and a better life. When they get there they realise that they, along with everyone else in the area, have been misled so that they can be manipulated into working for the lowest possible wage, and so end up being in a worse off position.
The staging of the show was excellent - the floor was a sea of wooden planks which represented the baroness of the American mid-west. The stage was raised so that during a particularly impressive storm sequence, the rain could run into a make-shift lake at the side of the stage. Otherwise, the set was quite minimalistic (a running theme throughout Chichesters productions this year, as you'll read later), although there were some clever props which descended from the ceiling which transported you from a cold, stormy evening, to a warm, cosy barn. Grapes has a very big cast, comprising of actors of varying sizes and ages. The majority were very good, although there were several dodgy accents in there. The story was compelling, even more so when you realise that this story was the same for millions of people across the region.
7/10- a good start to the week
The theatre tour on Saturday morning was another little treat. It took us from the props room to underneath the stage to witness the mechanics that kept the shows running. It also gave us an opportunity to stand on the main stages and to give us an idea of how the actors feel with 1500, and 300 seats facing their way! It amazed me to realise how close every seat was to the action. There were also some fun facts in the way of dead spots and sweet spots - the areas on the stage where the accoustics work best. There were other nice bits of information to keep me excited, but there were also some slight disappointments - some places we couldn't go for example, but I realise that every tour is different, and that visiting the dressing rooms may not have been entirely possible with a group of 25 blue rinses, a wheelchair user and some young-uns walking round.
Enron was the next show that I got to see, and it was showcased in the Minerva theatre, a much smaller, and more intimate theatre space. Written by Lucy Prebble and directed by Rupert Goold, Enron tells the story of the collapse of the conglomerate energy company. Although slightly fabricated, the story is an interesting one, and despite having no previous knowledge of the story, or economics, I was suprised to find the story very understandable. This is because the writing is very impressive - theories and jargon is explained in terms which are easy to relate to so the story moves along at a nice pace. The acting is superb, with Tim Pigott Smith and Sam West standing out. The staging is excellent, and is utilised fully. It isn't as extravagant as one of Goolds previous shows at the Minerva - Macbeth, but it evokes so much from the imagery. Colour, and lights and singing and dance and costumes all add extra layers, which make this production stand out from the rest. The highlight of the trip, and one of the top 5 theatrical pieces I have seen. 9/10
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