The history and myths surrounding Bristol’s Eldon House pub are the basis for an intriguing-looking slice of theatre-cum-cabaret. Steve Wright lines ’em up.

One of my favourite days so far has been visiting the Strangers’ Burial Ground with one of Thomas Beddoes’s descendants and watching him tend the grave, as he regaled us with the surreal stories of barrels of frogs. Later that same day we met the man who holds the key to the medieval Jewish well that gives Jacob's Wells Road its name – and found ourselves climbing into the well that evening! It's been quite an adventure.” There are many ways to produce a piece of theatre, but Emma Callander and Mark Olver, co-producers of Bristol’s brand new pub-theatre experiment ‘Mrs Higgins Presents…’, have undoubtedly chosen the most varied and eye-opening.

Emma – Bristol-raised theatre-maker, recently returned home after a spell with Glasgow’s National Theatre of Scotland – and Bristol comic Mark have spent the past few months devising, with a growing assortment of Bristol writers, performers and designers, an extraordinary evening of theatre, cabaret, comedy and music that will wander intriguingly around the Eldon House pub on Bristol’s Jacobs Wells Road and its surroundings. Their decisions to base the show on the myths and stories of the boozer and its neighbourhood, and to encourage local talent to get inspired by same, have clearly borne fruit.

“The process of creating this event has been a real tribute to the talent and generosity of Bristol’s creative community,” says Emma. “As soon as we started putting feelers out for potential collaborators, we had an overwhelming response – from both established artists in theatre, music and comedy and newcomers trying something out for the first time. The whole ethos of this project is to create a space where new voices can be heard alongside well-known names.”

Mark and Emma began by heading down to the Eldon to see what stories they could unearth. “Rab the landlord and Luke the bar manager gave us some juicy scraps, like the regular that does a dying fly impression on the floor, the famous owl that used to live on top of the gents’ toilets when it was still an outhouse in the garden (not that long ago) and the legendary punk jukebox that used to draw punters from far and wide.”

They then panned their search back in time, via the Record Office and the Central Library. Most illuminatingly, they learned about the neighbouring Strangers’ Burial Ground, a cemetery for visitors to the city during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when crowds descended on Bristol to be cured of tuberculosis by the waters of the Hot Wells. “Its most famous resident is Thomas Beddoes, the scientist who spent his days experimenting with anaesthesia in weird and wonderful ways including cows breathing on patients and plans of drowning barrels of frogs in buckets of green tea,” Emma explains. “We'll be the civic history experts of Bristol soon, but you do have to take all of our research with a pinch of salt. The best part about this project so far has been the giggles and gasps that have come about as we've shared our stories and sewn this surreal narrative together. If the evening is half as much fun as this process has been so far, then the audience are in for a treat.”

When it came to putting all these tales into an evening’s performance, Mark and Emma went for an overarching narrative penned by ace local playwright Tom Wainwright (‘Muscle’, ‘Pedestrian’ etc). They’re keen not to reveal too much: suffice to say that there’ll be a selection of short cabaret-style performances (compered by the pub ‘landlord’ for the evening), interlinked with short cameo pieces by ‘regulars’ around the pub. A middle section, meanwhile, will feature a selection of walkabout pieces.

At different points during the evening, you’ll find the dulcet tones of Kesty Morrison of Bristol blues/country/flamenco duo Cazal, and sundry mischief caused by the Mechanical Animal Corporation, a theatre troupe last seen giving an atmospheric rendition of Howard Barker’s ‘Und’ at Paintworks. Local walkabout theatre kings Stand and Stare will be creating some unexpected adventures; performer Malcolm Hamilton and Venue's own Tom Phillips have drawn on the antics and experiments of Mr Beddoes for two very different theatre pieces; and Anna Bolton, a lighting designer for The Wonder Club and Punchdrunk, has created, says Emma, “an experience that the lucky few who get to experience it will never forget”. The plan is, meanwhile, to take the format to other boozers in Bristol, Bath and beyond, with each show drawing on the characters and history surrounding its chosen watering-hole: a second venue will be announced at the end of the Eldon evening.

How much will be asked of the show’s intrepid audience, though? “The audience can be as passive or involved as they choose,” Emma promises. “Those who want to sit in the pub with a drink watching the live music, comedy and performance poetry acts on stage can do just that, but for the more adventurous there are delights to be found if you scratch the surface, follow an actor, text a number or ascend the stairs... I can say no more than that.”

MRS HIGGINS PRESENTS... WAS AT THE ELDON HOUSE, BRISTOL ON TUE 19 APR. SEE HTTP://MRSHIGGINSPRESENTS.WORDPERSS.COM
 

Copyright Steve Wright 2011

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