Bleakly inspiring...

Thursday was one of those days where I didn’t really have time to do all the things I needed to do…a day running workshops at a Pupil Referral Unit, followed by teaching in an after schools drama club, followed by directing the glorious Orange Company, followed by hosting a theatre performance by Splendid Productions…it was always going to be a significant challenge but by the end of the day none of that mattered because I had been well and truly inspired…

The source of that inspiration was Splendid Productions performance of  “Woyzeck.”  Splendid Productions were founded by my college friend, the exceptionally talented and brilliant Kerry Frampton, the company specialize in taking established work and re-envisioning it in an entirely original way whilst holding onto the integrity of the play.  Their choice for this years tour the unfinished Buchner play “Woyzeck” is a gritty and grave choice.  It tells the story of an impoverished soldier – the title character - who, to earn some extra money, takes part in medical research…it’s a tragic tale that follows the decline of Franz Woyzeck as he entirely unspools resulting in his brutal killing of his wife.

So how can something so bleak be so inspiring?  By the description it is obvious that the play doesn’t have the ingredients of a heartwarming, affirming tale, it’s undeniably hard hitting and uncomfortable watching.   However despite this you leave the theatre feeling re invigorated and I think this is why.  The production  makes you think about the possibilities in theatre, about the power of story, about society and about humanity…it makes you question cause and effect, our capacity as people to cope with the world we find ourselves in, the opportunities in and confinements of our existence.  Due to it’s gloriously inventive approach, which owes much to Brecht, Brook and Artaud the performance forces you to sit up and open your eyes to aspects of humanity that we would perhaps prefer to turn a blind eye to and in turn what kind of impression we want to leave on the world.  All of this rich contemplation sparked by the most simple and intelligent of approaches to staging…nothing fussy, nothing superfluous…exceptionally talented actors telling a story and telling it well.  Comedy sits side by side with tragedy as we hop through time and watch Woyzeck’s story unfold.

At the end of the performance I was more than a little shell shocked and left with much to reflect on, not least the sheer power of theatre.  To be able to expose the dark side of humanity and yet act as a catalyst to renew the drive to take hold of life and make the most of it is really something…