In preparation for the Bedlam Festival, running from the 29th January to 1st February, five theatrical shows presented extracts of their upcoming performances to a packed and lively audience. Amid directing, line-learning, and rehearsals, the extracts provided a varied and rich collective of productions to watch out for. The whole evening was highly spirited, alight with nerves and anticipation for performances not yet perfected, but full of verve, hilarity and sadness alike. From historical narratives to murder mysteries, family troubles to secret trysts, Bedfest surely has something for all.
Fools and Knaves, by Polly Dunn
The first production proved a tough act to follow, as in England, 1623, the sleeping Prince Charles I is awoken to the proposition of an “adventure!” Play on words, self-referential humour, and much comedic timing left the audience in fits. Yet beneath Dunn’s brilliant wordplay lies a stark historical and social commentary on politics, power, nationhood and fraternity. An ominous narrative foretelling of how the wheel of time crushes those who set it in motion left an audience in great anticipatory suspense for the unravelling beyond.
Venison, by Huw Turnbull
Humour and morbidity mingle and merge in this tantalising extract of the “most awkward dinner party in history!” The disappearance of their friend Jane, and their prophesying of something uncanny about her boyfriend Jerry leaves Dan, Bill and Max fearful, but not a little thrilled for the potential of some truly dark and twisted resolution. The dinner table is set…
Time Bends, by William Oliveira
“Two men meet in a bar and have a conversation.” Sounds simple right? This audience wasn’t so sure… David sits in an independent cinema with his wife and reflects on his lost love, Michael, a charismatic and intelligent older man. With Baldwin-esque intensity and sublimation, Time Bends explores loves lost and found. Through a twenty-year spectrum, moving forwards and backwards through a candlelit room, the secrecy, richness and difficulty David’s identity leaves the audience caught intangibly between present and past.
Shoebox’d, by Lola Rose Wood
Darkly humorous, the disappearance of Fran’s flatmate Sam leaves her to push all moral and psychological boundaries to find her again. Boundaries allying “mine” and “yours” are torturously drawn, as the line between right and wrong slips further and further with every desperate turn Fran takes. “Cohabiting and co-dependency” are powerfully and acutely explored.
CardStock, by Qianyue Ang
Perhaps initiating the most raucous laughter from the audience, CardStock powerfully explores the difficult and dissociated relationship between a mother and daughter in this early scene in the production. At this point, Lily’s sexual exploitation by her stepfather is a dark secret she holds alone. It won’t be until later that Lily’s own agency and strength around her trauma are generated by her connection to Mae. In this extract, her apathy and disillusionment cause her mother significant distress, as their dynamic is presented highly comedically to the audience.
Image provided by Bedlam Theatre