PERFORMANCE & COMEDY

Bristol Old Vic Studio (Tue 25-Thur 27 Oct)

THEATRE Developed as part of the Old Vic’s Ferment programme for new theatre, Bristol-based poet and MC Jack Dean’s 'Under Stokes Croft' is a journey through 24 hours in the city’s bohemian quarter, culminating in the night of April’s riots. Inspired by Dylan Thomas’s 'Under Milk Wood', a narrative poem exploring the innermost thoughts and dreams of the inhabitants of a small Welsh village, Dean ups the ante by using animations, music and video footage to bring life and colour to his tale.

The story begins with the audience being introduced to an orange, furry monster who, we are told, lives underneath the streets of Stokes Croft, collecting pieces of dreams and scraps of rubbish. As a drawing of the city by night is illuminated on stage, Dean gradually begins to introduce the selection of characters whose thoughts and moves are to be chronicled.

Each one, although fictional, is instantly recognisable to us – from ‘Beardy Dave’ who spends his days serving rude customers in the Apple store while dreaming of whizzing through the great outdoors on his bike, to ‘Jeremy-call-me-Jezzo’, the status-obsessed BMW driver who touts his 'five-point plan for success' programme around the city’s businesses. As we listen to their thoughts and dreams before following them throughout their day, they strike a chord as the types of characters we see day to day around us, ones that we really can imagine living and working around Stokes Croft.

Dean’s talent as an actor as well as writer comes into play as he brings each character to life. He raises plenty of belly laughs with his witty delivery and apt characterisation, varying the pace and tone and reining the piece back from ever feeling bland or repetitive. The comedy also provides a contrast with the serious nature of the poem’s conclusion – those April riots – and prevents it ever becoming preachy or overly political.

The childlike, hand-drawn animation sequences of the monster going about his errands, which appear throughout the performance, give a naïve, childlike quality to the piece. This is torn apart by the raw, mobile phone footage of the riots that appears to the end, edited to a shuddering bassline. Dean does not attempt to analyse the riots and their causes, nor does he take sides or condemn. Rather, the overwhelming feeling we are left with is one of sadness and loss.

Dean’s love for the area and the people in it are obvious throughout the piece, and the destructive final events leave the audience as heartbroken as he clearly is. (Jessica Bateman)

Copyright Jessica Bateman 2011