Unmasked

Extracts from Rich’s notes on Burn My Heart by 'trestle unmasked'

He gave me ten pages rambling on about how masks are really intimidating for a director and how amazing famile floez are. I have selected a few chunks which relate to Romeo and Juliet and the stage that they are at with it today.

“The show was very tight, and although some of the characters were annoying I was with all of the performers throughout. I left really thinking that this was great theatre for young theatre makers. It was a slick example of devised theatre which would be brilliant for school groups GCSE to A level. Some companies would take that as an insult, I know I wouldn’t, making inspirational theatre for young people is an admirable goal, trouble is that it felt a little bit like it was trying to be for older audiences…

…It’s strange how much the space effected the experience for me. As with all of my research reports I am not talking about the play, I’m not judging it, I’m reporting on it. The New Diorama was the perfect place to see this show. I have seen every touring show Trestle have made over the past ten years. They are good people and usually good people make good theatre… However I have been consistently confused by Trestle shows. Lost somewhere in-between children’s theatre and adult fantasy theatre, using a mixture of mime, puppetry and mask work I have wanted to love trestle’s work and more often than not I have been found wanting. Burn my heart goes back to basics, it is so simple, it uses delightful staging to clearly portray a gentle story of a time I was really interested to learn about. The music was great, the characterisation and actor race crossing was brilliantly effective. But where does this sit now? Fringe theatre has moved on, the techniques they were using like sitting in a car are commonplace in every good school devised piece.

Is trestle a small scale devised company? Is trestle a mid scale touring theatre? Is it completely moving away from its mask history? I know it only tours work now but what sort of work does it tour?

I REALLY don’t think they need to answer that, especially not to me, I take the work on face value, to me this is a very small scale show which should be seen by school groups in their masses, loads to write about in terms of performance techniques and full of all sorts of fun tricks for students to enjoy playing with. If I saw this show in a 300 seater I would have had a very different opinion of it I think.

…And now they are ‘unmasked’ who is still masked? Trestle are a hub of mask history, they are the first mask company I ever experienced, their masks were never the problem it was the shows that they chose to use the masks in that lost them their audiences and by god I think they can get them back! In a time of creative constraints we need diversity, we need for people who are the best at what they do to do everything they can to do it well and keep our creative pool colourful and vibrant. I can name 25 companies who could have done what they were doing in this show just as well or better. I couldn’t name 5 great British companies with the traditions and the abilities that trestle have…

…I am sure that the creative team at trestle are aware of a shift in style, but I think that its always important to be bold in the theatre. Be bold or don’t bother showing up. Bold and shocking are in no way the same thing. I would love to see trestle at the New Diorama with a really bold show- something lyrical, original and full of masks used in a way we have never seen and puppets coming to life in a way they never have. They are one of the few companies in the country with a name that books itself and I think they should use it…

…For Romeo and Juliet I must know my spaces. The design has to fit obviously, but I am learning that the show must ‘belong’ in a space. Burn My Heart belonged in the New Diorama, even if it was just for one night and maybe if I saw it in a bigger space it would have belonged their too but I don’t think it would be the same…

…Romeo and Juliet is all about atmosphere, as I hope all my shows are, the room has to be electric and I am learning, only now after watching thousands of shows, that sometimes the generator isn’t big enough for the building. Once with Gomito, we performed Little Red Things, a children’s show, in the Bury Theatre Royal (A stunning place). That was about 4 years ago and I felt it then. The space was simply too big. It wasn’t my fault, nor the fault of any of us, we just assumed it would work, the show was fine, the cast loved it, the audience loved it. But I knew something wasn’t right. it sounds obvious but every show has it’s own generator, we will do everything we can to harness that power and make everyone feel as connected to the show as I did to Burn My Heart on the second row of an 80 odd seater.”

Thanks for reading.