PALACE THEATRE ARTICLE 4
PALACE THEATRE ARTICLE - MARCH 2007
FROM MOLIERE TO MURDER - SPRING IS SPRUNG!
As the warmer weather sets into this year, it is normal to expect a cooling of audience figures, especially in a seaside habitat, where local residents prefer the view of the receding tide in a scarlet sunset rather then an evening secreted in the darkened auditorium of their local rep theatre. However, the recent rocketing temperatures have not cooled the record number of customers to the Palace and we have seen healthy and growing numbers over the last few months.
It has also been pleasing to see that amongst the selection of the usual solid dramas and fail safe comedies, there have been some interesting and artistically diverse programming that has incorporated contemporary dance and new drama commissions. From the dance world came the stunning production of 'Heaven On Earth' by Union Dance Company which played to select audiences back in March. The programme was created from two separate and equally original pieces of work which fused movement, light, visuals and sound in perfect balance and breath taking choreography. It bought a fresh and innovative piece of programming to a theatre that is not estranged from ground breaking productions and it was truly enlightening and inspiring that choices like this can bring a whole new audience into this grand old production house. Union Dance was accompanied with other diverse choices this Spring which included Northern pole dancers, Russian playwrights and Irish musicians creating a wide and very varied season for the Palace. Also outstanding amongst the new season's productions, was the premiere tour of the international cult best seller of 'The Alchemist' by Paolo Coelho which brought a touch of the ancient East to the people of the West. With minimal set and lush design, the play was a sensual assault on its voyeurs with exotic incense, live music, ingenious puppetry and physical theatre and has to be one of the best productions of any genre I have seen in recent years. In complete contrast to the dusky back streets of Egypt, the Dixon Studio housed the Restoration classic that is 'Tartuffe' from the quill of the French dramatist Moliere which was brought to sparkling life by the local group with the infamous reputation for quality productions - the Southend Shakespeare Company. The appetite to dare to be different was certainly embraced in early Spring as the SSC created a production that embraced the classical structure of such a well known piece as well as seamlessly infiltrating their own unique twists and interpretations for which they celebrated and acknowledged. The simple set and original use of light and sound created a mise-en-scene that would not have been out of place with a more lavish back drop and vaster use of space at some bigger venue like the Old Vic. The immediacy of the piece, with its close range playing to its 100 seater venue, only served to highlight the peek-a-boo style of storyline with various characters hiding in and around the places of their pre-Revolutionary pied a terre’s in classical Restoration style.
From the select to the more popular creations that bring the much needed revenue to our beloved theatre, came 'Perfect Pitch' from the ever reliable pen of John Godber - the writer who bought 'Bouncers' and 'Up'n'Under' to the paying theatre population. An engaging and earthy comedy brought an evening of amusement and laughter in its rapier style of comedy delivery and fantastic characterizations from the actors. Not an easy feat when the subject of this hilarity is the relatively tame and quintessentially British hobby of caravanning and all its requisite quirks and a past time that not everyone is truly familiar with. The bawdy comedy of this Northern creation contrasted strongly with a following drama production of 'Signpost To Murder' in which we saw a variety of soap stars return to their dramatic routes and re-create the claustrophobic world of trapped mentality and the resulting actions that the human race can resort to in order to survive. Strong performances and an unpredictable storyline had audiences gripped in their thousands throughout its very successful run in March.
However, the jewel in the already glittering crown of that season was the heart stopping, spine chilling and record breaking Gothic carousel that is 'The Woman In Black'. The longest running play in the West End behind 'The Mousetrap', this deceptively simple and truly horrifying classic has been spooking natives and tourists alike in its original home of the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden where it is just entering in its 18th year. I saw this production for the first time in 2000 at the Fortune which, with its narrow and high incline (and short supply of lavatories!) has marked similarities to the Palace and where it is best suited to play and embellishes the atmospheric capacities of both production and venue. Its incredibly talented use of direction and lighting provided shocks and scares to even the most hardened teenager and it was quietly pleasing to see young men raised on a diet of video nasties and computer games to emerge ashen faced and nerve racked after the final curtain call. My teenage niece was also one of the converts and sat for most of the show with her fingers jammed firmly into her ears in anticipation of the blood curdling screams which were provided in plenty by the watching audience. It was only the consumption of a large bag of Revels that bought her partly to her senses and her digits away from her head!
On other news with the continuing development of the Palace comes in the form of the new appointment of Jenny Byne from South East Essex College as the new Education and Community Manager. She will devote her time to strengthening the links between theatre and community which can only be most welcome for those who wish to see the active promotion of this excellent theatre in the locale.
The continuing building of East 15 Acting School comes closer than ever with the finishing touches to the building and there it is already staffed in the reception area with information about the pending training establishments that will soon be housed in the Luker Road development. This will hopefully bring a mutual relationship between this potential artistic training ground and the creative hub that both college and theatre can provide.
Southend Spyglass.