The theatrical
fringe is the traditional stomping ground of the innovative,
where both form and content are constantly reworked and new
talent is frequently discovered. Phil Willmott finds some good
reasons for looking beyond the West End this autumn.
Next year the
Royal National Theatre’s Lyttelton auditorium is going
to be divided into ‘alternative’ spaces. One of
the reasons given for this is Trevor Nunn’s claim that
many of our more interesting companies and directors aren’t
interested in creating work in a traditional proscenium arch.
The identities of these mysterious artists, who are turning
down the chance to display their work at the National, remain
unclear. Perhaps Nunn is responding to his already existing
stable, but I’ve been talking to two companies on the
farther reaches of the fringe who are defiantly choosing to
turn their backs on the established theatrical conventions.
A theatre-maker
continuing to strike out on his own is performer Gavin Skerritt.
He trained conventionally at drama school but was unfulfilled
by the usual actor-director relationship as he felt he was working
to release what the director wanted from a text rather than
give his own response.
First
person singular
His life took a new direction when he studied marionettes in
Brussels and then worked with the pioneering Norwich Puppet
Theatre for three years. He now uses idiosyncratic puppets of
his own invention in one-man performance pieces that explore
aspects of his cultural heritage. He plans a series of four.
The first Y Weledigaeth, performed in Welsh, reflects the influence
of his mother, the second, provisionally entitled The Merchant
Banker, will be inspired by his East End father; and two further
pieces will look at the impact of growing up in the new town
of Basildon and his experiences of being a gay man in London.
This is very visual work. Non Welsh-speaking audiences were
as moved as those who could follow the text when he recently
staged a Celtic legend through a series of haunting images and
sounds. There’s another chance to catch it when it comes
to The Lion and Unicorn Theatre.
Phil Willmott (Theatregoer Magazine)
