Thursday, 29th February 2024 at York Theatre Royal
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It’s a rarity in theatre I think, but Wise Children (like Kneehigh before them) can always be trusted to totally cut us off from the outside world for a few hours. The worlds created don’t play by the rules, offering escapism through a characteristic richness of theatricality and music. This time though, Emma Rice allows her theatrical worlds and the darkness of the real world to collide in Blue Beard, tapping into the disturbingly relevant dangers facing women just trying to live life, embrace love and make it home safely. So while this show delivers on the Wise Children magic, it ends on an unusually stark note of devastation and fury.
Rice writes and directs this version of the folk tale, and once again strikes a skilful balance between humour and pathos, pursuing that deliciously radical theatricality but without alienating audiences from the story she’s telling. And with Blue Beard, it’s another winding path of tales which cross and intertwine.
First, we meet the sisters of the “Convent of the three F’s: Fearful, Fucked and Furious” and they’re as rad as they sound with their unconventional tartan habits and sunglasses (costume design: Vicky Mortimer). Katy Owen leads the reactive tribe as Mother Superior – fiercely protective of the sisterhood and as equally imposing with her bellowing and whistle as she is brutally funny, she tries from the margins of the stage to give a wake-up call to the women we see, acting as both narrator and chorus.
And out from the sisterhood our central characters stylishly peel themselves: deeply confident sisters Lucky (Robyn Sinclair) and Trouble (Stephanie Hockley) are full of the sensuality and devil-may-care freedoms of their youth, beautifully captured in Etta Murfitt’s playful, quirky movement direction and choreography. Their mother (Patrycja Kujawska) taught them to live a full life, and that’s just what they seek to do as they party and binge and laugh and dance the night away. But rarely do women get to do such things without a predatory male hovering on the outskirts… And so enters Tristan Sturrock as Blue Beard himself – a suave, quietly alluring magician who knows how to get the attention of women – much to their peril.
Vicki Mortimer’s set directly engages with the artifice at play, offering a bare scaffolding framework within which the story plays out; no embellishments but twinkling stage lights and lush curtains which sharply cut between scenes – particularly effective in the most violent moments which are given greater power by Malcolm Rippeth’s dramatic lighting.
“Lucky” is soon under Blue Beard’s spell and Sinclair gives a performance full of naivety, giddy awakening and gradual terror as Sturrock’s villain sets up a test of her obedience. Hockley’s Trouble is narcotised with care-free living and clinging to rebellion through fantastic musical performance, while Kujawska’s mother, wounded by her own lost relationship, unhappily listens to her daughter’s excuses – as many mothers of domestic violence victims have. As tragedy looms, the women unite for battle.
A second tale gradually intertwines with the first, developing narrative and emotional layers in preparation for some surprising reveals. A youthful lad in modern dress (Adam Mirsky) turns up at the convent talking about his sister (Mirabelle Gremaud) – at first the parallels seem to be a simple reminder that women across the ages have been vulnerable to the designs of sinister men, but the real connection is made plain at the close of the play, when a torrent of emotional outpouring brings the stories together in a fiery and defiant conclusion.
The show is also full of gorgeous folk music (Composer: Stu Barker) which elevates all the key moments and allows the cast of actor-musicians – with Mirabelle Gremaud leading the way – to shine as they switch between accompaniment and main stage action.
Gremaud, as in previous productions, is a total joy to watch as she gradually rolls out a stunning array of talents, playing various instruments and singing folk songs with gorgeous purity, developing an endearing woman full of life who soon to be wronged, and throwing in some acrobatics and ballet moves for good measure. And Mirsky has a hefty role on his shoulders as the representative “good guy” – this young man has suffered as a result of male violence too, and Mirsky does well to offer a gentle foil to the callous Blue Beard.
The closing moments are very on the nose, but it feels right that they should be so. Actors and audience alike reflect on the state of things now, with Simon Baker’s video flying in to put us in a position of rising alarm, hammering home the tragedy. Now suddenly looking like us, the cast bring the story to our time and our feet, telling us in both silent solidarity and a rallying battle cry that enough is enough, and it’s a powerful end to the revels of the evening.
Blue Beard is at York Theatre Royal until March 9th 2024 – more information and tickets can be found here. You can also keep up to date with all things Wise Children here.
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