Sunday, January 25, 2009
Strangeface Theatre Company & The Last Resort
Today is a nothing day for me. It is raining and I am home alone.
Bill is at the sports centre doing a course about timekeeping and modern photofinish techniques. I decided that it really would not be appealing for me. I hope Bill is enjoying his day out.
But I can look back on a fantastically good evening.
The show we saw was called The Last Resort and was staged by a small professional company with 4 actors and a musician and and a small back stage crew.
The musician, Mark Dean, was known to some of the Pilgrims people who had joined the audience. He is an opera singer and an innovative composer.
I suggest you click on to the web site and watch the brief video they made.
See the actors and realise we were sitting in the front row just a few feet from the action - and on the same level. There was no stage.
The 4 actors wore masks for each character and quick changes of costume. It was quite unnerving as they seemed to stare at us in the audience with their big mask eyes.
http://www.strangeface.co.uk/
The story was this - a soldier -thief does a deal with a devil to save his life and enjoy new found riches. He must find a soul to take his place in hell within 3 days - with strings attached.
When he arrives in the nearest community he finds people struggling to survive. It was once a prosperous spa town but war has ravaged its streets.
It is a dark tale with twists and turns - and very funny!
Remember you can click on any picture to see details enlarged - then you use the back click arrow to return to the blog. Will you need this facility for the last picture I wonder!
The first three pictures below show scenes from the performance (web site pictures).
Hey - I look quite fetching in a mask! See below.
This was the landlady of the inn's mask. She was a miserable old cow!
If you feel delicate and genteel - then I suggest you miss out this picture of me and the devil!
Bill is at the sports centre doing a course about timekeeping and modern photofinish techniques. I decided that it really would not be appealing for me. I hope Bill is enjoying his day out.
But I can look back on a fantastically good evening.
The show we saw was called The Last Resort and was staged by a small professional company with 4 actors and a musician and and a small back stage crew.
The musician, Mark Dean, was known to some of the Pilgrims people who had joined the audience. He is an opera singer and an innovative composer.
I suggest you click on to the web site and watch the brief video they made.
See the actors and realise we were sitting in the front row just a few feet from the action - and on the same level. There was no stage.
The 4 actors wore masks for each character and quick changes of costume. It was quite unnerving as they seemed to stare at us in the audience with their big mask eyes.
http://www.strangeface.co.uk/
The story was this - a soldier -thief does a deal with a devil to save his life and enjoy new found riches. He must find a soul to take his place in hell within 3 days - with strings attached.
When he arrives in the nearest community he finds people struggling to survive. It was once a prosperous spa town but war has ravaged its streets.
It is a dark tale with twists and turns - and very funny!
Remember you can click on any picture to see details enlarged - then you use the back click arrow to return to the blog. Will you need this facility for the last picture I wonder!
The first three pictures below show scenes from the performance (web site pictures).
When the show was over, the lights went up and the masks were brought out for us to see and we could chat with the cast.
Here is Bill modelling the mask of the devil
Hey - I look quite fetching in a mask! See below.
This was the landlady of the inn's mask. She was a miserable old cow!
In between the action, the four actors became a chorus to keep the action flowing. They were lovely, simple folk - and here is Bill in one of the masks.
There were also puppets - appearing at the windows in the set to pass comment on things occurring.
Bill got the technique very well.
We all thought this one looked like the Duke of Edinburgh!
We all thought this one looked like the Duke of Edinburgh!
Whoops! We didn't notice that my arm is so obvious - it is supposed to look like the puppet's arm.
There was a grotesque puppet of a devil.
There was a grotesque puppet of a devil.
If you feel delicate and genteel - then I suggest you miss out this picture of me and the devil!
Now - I know you will look!
