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The
Mill Community Education and Arts Centre,
Spiceball Park,
Banbury,
Oxon,
OX16 5QE
The
Oxford Apollo, George Street, Oxford, OX1
2AG
Tel: 0870 606 3500
The Oxford Playhouse
Beaumont Street
Oxford
Ox1 2LW
Tel 01865 305305
Pegasus
Theatre
Magdalen Road
Oxford OX4 1RE
Tel 01865 792209
Burton
Taylor Theatre
Gloucester Street, Oxford
OX1 2BN
Tel: 01865 305 305
Old
Fire Station Theatre
40 George Street, Oxford
OX1 2AQ
Tel: 01865 297 170
The
Jericho Comedy Club
Upstairs at the Jericho Tavern, 56 Walton
Street,
Jericho, Oxford OX2 6AE
Tel:01865 311 775
Modern
Art Oxford
Admission is Free
Open: Tues - Sat 10:00-17:00, Sun 12:00-17:00,
closed Mon. Late openings on event nights
Tel. 01865 722733 Recorded info 01865 813830
Sonning Eye, near Reading
0118 969 8000
Friends
Meeting House, 42 St Giles, Oxford
Unicorn
Theatre, Checker Walk, Abingdon
Jongleurs
Comedy Club, 3-5 Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford,
OX1 2EW.
Railway
Inn
A415 Culham
Abingdon
Oxfordshire
Tel: 01367 710 593
Box Office:
Tel: 0870 7500659
If
you want your theatre group's website added
to this index contact us.
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成人快手 is not responsible for the content of
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By
Rebecca Ting
Goethe's
Faust never seemed to be the most obvious inspiration for a puppet
show, but then to crudely label The Basement Theatre's production
as a mere 'puppet show' would be a travesty.
The
one night show at the Playhouse involved 11 puppeteers, three actors
and a host of Georgian puppets.
And
they were not just your average jerky string puppets. They were
dynamic, each one animated by three puppeteers, and capable of producing
highly convincing and subtle life-like movements.
The
characterisation was wonderful, with a saucy boudoir Martha, a parade
of increasingly imaginative and grotesque demons and the devilish
Mephistopheles portrayed as an all-singing, all-dancing smooth operator
in a stripy tie.
As
the plot unfolded, it was impossible not to be in some way affected
by Gretchen's sadness, and Faust's impossible predicament. The more
frantic scenes saw the puppeteers weaving skillfully through, around
and under each others arms to manoeuvre the puppets into a succession
of increasingly complex gestures of despair and loss.
The
puppeteers themselves were dressed in black, but from time to time
in your peripheral vision you caught a glimpse of their faces or
hands moving behind the puppets and far from ruining the action,
they instead contributed to a surreal and dreamlike atmosphere.
The
soundtrack complemented the action perfectly, with the Green Witch
and Martha sauntering seductively to equally saucy music and Prokofiev's
'Montagues and Capulets' fitting perfectly to Faust's experience
in the Forest of Demons.
Initial
worries at not understanding the Georgian dialogue were soon put
to rest. A detailed plot synopsis, the emotive music and the gestures
and feelings of the characters expressed in minute detail the complexities
of the play.
This
production was a stunning and memorable performance, touching in
its sadness, yet supremely witty.
At
the end, the puppeteers come to take their bows and were applauded
for a full five minutes - the audience learnt that hands can say
more than words.
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