After a half-decade absence, Sh!t Theatre, composed of Rebecca Biscuit and Louise Mothersole, returns to the stage. This time, they return with a slightly different focus: a newfound love for folk music and a question lingering in the air, can they still make Sh!t Theatre as they once did?
The show is called Sh!t Theatre: Or What’s Left Of Us. What has ‘left them’ was never directly suggested during the show, only a joke about there being no director to tell them what to do anymore: their director, Adam Brace, who was also Biscuit’s partner, passed away last year at the age of 43.
The duo starts the show with a wassail, singing Barley Mow and inviting the audience into their exploration of folk music: a passion sparked during a challenging time. Biscuit and Mothersole dive into their experiences at a Yorkshire folk club and a folk festival, blending humour, drinking and storytelling with traditional songs. They recount their “folk revival period,” from taking mushrooms at a folk festival to their encounter with Steeleye Span and the quirky purchase of a tea towel.
The narrative weaves through darkly comic reflections on death and rituals, highlighting their preferred drinking occasions: funerals, airports, or “accidental” moments, and drawing inspiration from Midsommar.
he recurring figure of John Barleycorn, who meets various grim fates in folk songs, reinforces the idea that “there are rules” in both life and folklore, suggesting that death is never truly the end. And then there are the Japanese bowls, mended with gold: through the golden melodies of folk songs, they are piecing themselves back together, different yet still shining and beautiful.
Instead of their usual all-white face paint, this time they appear with dark tear tracks staining their cheeks, a reflection of the real-life grief that has marked them since their last show. Adorned in folk-inspired headdresses, like badger ears and corn dolly crowns, and performing against a backdrop of woodcut illustrations, they create a vivid, immersive world.
As Sh!t Theatre reminds us, “It is possible to be desperately sad and have fun at the same time.” The post-show folk sing-along at the nearby bar was a true treat, where the audience and anyone who felt like joining in, sitting or standing, came together to sing folk songs, creating a sense of community, for healing and celebration, just like their night at that Yorkshire folk club.
Image by Claire Nolan provided to The Student for press use.