You really have to admire a young student company that attempts the impossible. Equally, however, you can’t be too surprised if they don’t quite manage it. In truth, there are an a lot of good things about Blood Wedding at the Old Fire Station this week, even though ultimately it delivers just what the company’s name suggests – “A Confused Production”.
The actual story is beautiful in its simplicity. An old woman, still grieving for the murder of her husband and eldest son, consents to the marriage of her last remaining son to a beautiful young woman. However, that young woman is still consumed by her lust for a man from the very family which committed the murder and in the heat of this passion she flees with him into the woods, still wearing her wedding dress from the earlier ceremony. There is an air of inevitability to the final conclusion as the vengeful husband closes in on the lovers lying together on a river bank. However, it is just that relentless sense of inevitable tragedy that makes the play so powerful.
Fundamental to the piece is the wonderful way in which the play’s hostile setting is interwoven with the text. The heat, the dust, the stones which rip the shoes from a horse’s hooves all provide the oppressive atmosphere on which this story relies. Bluntly, it was always asking a lot to recreate that in a studio theatre 50 yards from George Street, although the white back-drop and clever lighting helped to give an air of austerity at times. Add to that the fact that some of the actors were trying to play parts 2 generations older and it is easy to see just why this production falls somewhat short. Having said that, the original score which was written especially to accompany the piece was at times brilliant, particularly when used to support a Spanish lullaby. Also, some of the comic timing was impressive (Rhys Bevan and Sophia Satchell-Baseza especially) and highlighted an under-appreciated aspect to the play, although ultimately I think it detracted somewhat from what is essentially a tragedy.
There was certainly enough within Blood Wedding to suggest that this group of individuals are capable of delivering much more in the future. I, for one, hope they apply their ambition to something just a fraction more do-able.
The actual story is beautiful in its simplicity. An old woman, still grieving for the murder of her husband and eldest son, consents to the marriage of her last remaining son to a beautiful young woman. However, that young woman is still consumed by her lust for a man from the very family which committed the murder and in the heat of this passion she flees with him into the woods, still wearing her wedding dress from the earlier ceremony. There is an air of inevitability to the final conclusion as the vengeful husband closes in on the lovers lying together on a river bank. However, it is just that relentless sense of inevitable tragedy that makes the play so powerful.
Fundamental to the piece is the wonderful way in which the play’s hostile setting is interwoven with the text. The heat, the dust, the stones which rip the shoes from a horse’s hooves all provide the oppressive atmosphere on which this story relies. Bluntly, it was always asking a lot to recreate that in a studio theatre 50 yards from George Street, although the white back-drop and clever lighting helped to give an air of austerity at times. Add to that the fact that some of the actors were trying to play parts 2 generations older and it is easy to see just why this production falls somewhat short. Having said that, the original score which was written especially to accompany the piece was at times brilliant, particularly when used to support a Spanish lullaby. Also, some of the comic timing was impressive (Rhys Bevan and Sophia Satchell-Baseza especially) and highlighted an under-appreciated aspect to the play, although ultimately I think it detracted somewhat from what is essentially a tragedy.
There was certainly enough within Blood Wedding to suggest that this group of individuals are capable of delivering much more in the future. I, for one, hope they apply their ambition to something just a fraction more do-able.