Theatre Re's delightful and entertaining storytelling is achieved through a mainly non-verbal presentation by a group of superb physical theatre performers and two exceptional composer-musicians.
"Theatre Re's shows explore fragile human experiences through compelling physical theatre." Additionally, it is the company's policy to collaborate with experts in various fields which relate to the dramatic context of a particular work. For Bluebelle, they are partnered by a Health and Care Research Institution, and their adviser is a philosopher.
Bluebelle was conceived by director Guillaume Pige and devised by the company. So a fairy tale provides the framework for a play about family relationships, love and loss, grief and recovery, cruelty and kindness.
The play takes place in a dark world where a travelling light illuminates one space at a time. At the beginning of the play, a group of friends meet under a light which might represent a fire. They seem to warm themselves before dancing wildly in a circle.
Two characters emerge. They look like simple peasants, but in no time, they find and put on elaborate wooden crowns and become King Eric and Queen Cordelia. We have entered the world of folk tales, like those gathered by the Brothers Grimm, a world with a bluebell fairy, an evil witch, two conjoined comic brothers and a roaring dragon. And this is the context, full of symbols and symbolic action which enables us to engage with family life, good and bad, in the realistic present.
The King and Queen have a baby. The Queen is attacked and the baby dies. They try again with the support of the bluebell fairy, who provides the child with magic bluebell leaves which will protect her and keep her safe. The royal parents decide to keep their child safe by enclosing her in a glass sphere. Bluebelle remains in this enclosed world which she finds frustrating until she is big enough to move about in a huge sphere where she can look through but not touch the things outside her tangible world. But then she gains her freedom.
Symbols and symbolic action are now increasingly important as the fairly tale provides a relevant parallel to present-day life. The evil witch is obsessed by the Crown and will have it by fair means or foul. The conjoined comic brothers take advantage of the innocent princess and rob her of her protective bluebell leaves. And it transpires that all three evil characters are servants of the Dragon.
The plot becomes more complicated. The King is beheaded by one of the Clowns. The Queen is heartbroken and ill and only recovers when she goes through the symbolic action of taking a step at a time. Later action becomes increasingly violent. The evil witch overpowers the Queen, but later, the recovered Queen kills the witch. Ultimately, it is the good characters that survive and the bad that die, as it should be in a fairy tale.
The character and expressive movement of the four actors is perfectly rehearsed and a pleasure to watch. Claudia Marciano's role as Queen requires a wide emotional range from power and dignity to grief and suffering and eventually to unrestricted, revengeful violence. Giulia de Fabbro plays two roles: the sad Princess Bluebelle and the villainous evil witch, whose strong stage presence and flashing eyes are reminiscent of Richard the Third.
Marshall Stay finds comedy in the character of the King, as he does later in the action as one of the conjoined clowns. Marie James is a good character as the gentle Bluebelle Fairy, who brings comfort and saves lives.
The setting on the darkened stage is minimalist. Vertical ropes hang from the ceiling and can be raised or lowered by actors on stage and carry additional props like the swaddled baby. When all the ropes are down, it becomes a magic forest, a place to explore and run through, a place of solace and joy. Another joyful prop is a cardboard horse that nods its way forward rhythmically when the Queen searches for her lost daughter.
The music, composed and performed by Alex Judd and Henry Webster, is rich and full-bodied, providing a continuous identity for the dark world presented. It changes to something like the throbbing music in Jaws when the paper dragon is about to appear.
This is such a creative enterprise for everybody involved, as musicians, physical theatre performers, mime artists, clowns and everybody who has contributed to the remarkable lighting, set, costume and props, or as collaborators or advisers in the development of the show.
There is a great deal to decode in a complex story played out in near darkness, and I feel very grateful that I had the chance to see it twice. The company web site provides information and a cast list, which is very helpful if you can access it.