Once again, I find myself going to a play where I don't know the full detail of what I'm going to expect. This version of a Shakespearian setting was in the theme of the British Summertime. Most of the audience fully knew what to prepare for: they had brought their camping chairs, and a cornucopia of picnic food, some spread out over foldable tables too - some even with birthday cake to celebrate during the interval. I really wanted to be invited to join in as most people had thought of everything and definitely looked like they might have plenty of leftovers, but we were well behaved and went to get some cider and strawberries at the bar instead. And borrowed some display chairs we found on the way in.
Chris Preece was the first actor we encountered, as the Sea Captain. Helpfully giving out QR codes (Q-Aaarrrrrrr) for the audience to scan for the paperless programme. And as the play started, we realised that humans weren't the only audience this evening. Behind the small staged covered with army camouflage netting, llamas lined up along the fence - as transfixed and also munching on dinner as the people the other side. A Billy Goat contained in the fencing to the left of the stage was also straining to get a better view, and loads of ducks kept circling in the sky throughout the evening's performance. This is Shakespeare in Millets Farm Centre, and it was lovely to be distracted by that every so often.
Folksy Theatre has been touring around rural areas throughout the UK for 16 years and you could tell. I thought the audience came prepared, but Folksy should have had a tardis behind the small stage/screen, though the llamas reported otherwise. The magic of theatre doesn't need all the trappings of a big stage with all the props and crew if the actors can change costume in two seconds on their own, plus paint pictures of the setting with their words and movement. And impressively (and not at all confusingly, given the identity switches in the play itself too) what could have been a cast of 12 was covered by only 5 (Stephanie MacGaraidh who plays Viola/Cesario and Maria is also the Composer and Musical Director.)
The music set the tone for the whole performance. A few standouts that I remember very well were Malvolio's yellow cross garter stocking crisis being well translated to the tune of 'Yellow Submarine', and of course, Celine Dion's Titanic theme featured in the shipwreck scene at the beginning - oh and Orsino (Rory Fairbairn) 'suddenly' doing a saxophone solo in the middle of a drunken revelry song. Music was the food of the play, and we munched on.
Jessica Donnelly's transitions between her three characters of Olivia, Sir Andrew and Antonio were probably the most impressive. Her Olivia was brilliant and layered in exactly the right amount of hyperbole to make her a wicked character to watch as her character arced from chaste and stoic to a woman on heat for both of the shipwrecked twins. All of the characters infused the perfect asides to make the text sound as colloquial as possible - mutterings of WTF and gesticulating to audience members 'Call me' with a wink lifted the text out of the 17th century and into the 21st.
The play was full of clever comedic glue, which is probably a good time to mention Sam Pitcher, who was another three character powerhouse. His main role was Feste, the jester - who may have had a hole in his hat but left the silliness to the rest of the cast as he is a witty fool, rather than a foolish wit. Both he, Chris Preece as Sir Toby Belch and Stephanie MacGaraidh as Maria were very strong examples of this, as everyone else was getting things very very wrong. Notably also: those four were the key musicians - yet another part to play.
Tom and Lee Harwicke also need a round of applause as director and art director. It was very seamless as well as silly performance and they made pop up theatre look easy. They are not the RSC, because the RSC couldn't do that type of gig. The llamas and Billy Goat were as transfixed on the play as the rest of us, and the ducks certainly cackled away with the audience, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em". The first was Shakespeare, the second was Folksy, the third was their audience. Thanks Folksy. Looking forward to seeing you again sometime.