REVIEW: Our Carnal Hearts, Pulse Festival, New Wolsey Theatre ✭✭✭✭
Paul T Davies reviews Our Carnal Hearts by Rachel Mars presented as part of the Pulse Festival at the New Wolsey Theatre.
Pulse Festival
REVIEW: The Audit, Pulse Festival, New Wolsey Theatre ✭✭✭
Paul T Davies reviews Proto-type Theatre’s The Audit presented as part of the Paulse Festival at the New Wolsey Theatre.
REVIEW: Education Education Education, Pulse Festival, New Wolsey Theatre ✭✭✭✭✭
Paul T Davies reviews Wardrobe Ensemble’s Education Education Education presented as part of the Pulse Festival at the New Wolsey Theatre.
Pulse Festival 2018 New Wolsey Theatre
Paul T Davies previews The 18th Annual Pulse Festival at the New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich. Now firmly established on the East Anglian and theatrical calendar, the Pulse Festival is 18 this year, and is as eclectic and exciting as it has been every year. With post Edinburgh hits on tour, scratch days, new work and material being tested, live music and dance, there really is something for everyone! The Suitcase Prize Day is always a great event, in which theatre makers present about 20 minutes of a new show, and are encouraged to think in an environmentally and economically sustainable way- work that can be toured in a suitcase! Twelve companies and artists will present excerpts of new work, with the winner being announced at the end of the day. Last year’s winner, Rubber Ring by James McDermott, gets its full performance, and it all takes place on Friday June … Read more
REVIEW: Boris and Sergey’s Preposterous Improvisation Experiment, Pulse Festival ✭✭✭✭
Boris and Sergey’s Preposterous Improvisation Experiment. Pulse Festival, New Wolsey Theatre. 10 June 2017 4 Stars And here is a great way to close the Pulse Festival, Flabbergast Theatre presenting one hour of totally unscripted work, with no rehearsals and no preparation. This approach always makes me feel a little nervous as I enter the auditorium, but there were only moments when the performers seemed to run out of steam, but, of course, they made a feature out of those moments! The troupe wisely made fun of the Pulse Festival by going through the programme, quickly noticing how many shows dealt with death, and began by presenting their version of those shows. Performed just two days after the general election, improvisation suggestions from the audience were along the lines of ‘strong and stable’, so for every time the performers looked to be clutching at straws, there were wheat fields to … Read more
REVIEW: Golem, New Wolsey Theatre, Pulse Festival ✭✭✭✭
Golem Pulse Festival, New Wolsey Theatre 10 June 2017 4 Stars Very much thought of as the jewel in the crown of this year’s Pulse Festival, 1927’s Golem is a show that has reached legendary status sine it was first staged, and comes to the Wolsey after long national and international tours. Drawing on the myth of The Golem, of a man who fashions a creature out of clay to work for him, the piece examines the relationship between man and machine, until the machines take over. The star of the show is the animation and projections that create a graphic novel coming to life, very much in the style of Fritz Lang, particularly Metropolis. The genius of the piece is that, despite its style, it is a world very familiar to us as the Golem is updated, each time becoming technologically smaller and more powerful. Human emotions are sublimated … Read more
REVIEW: Nuclear Family, New Wolsey Theatre, Pulse Festival ✭✭✭
Nuclear Family Pulse Festival, New Wolsey Theatre. 10 June 2017 3 Stars Presented as an inquiry into the meltdown of Ashtown Nuclear Plant, this interactive piece by Sunday’s Child and Fever Dream Theatre asks the audience to step in and make decisions that will affect the outcome of the drama. Racing against the clock, and with strictly timed discussion points, the majority choices are then acted out. It takes a while to get going, the opening scene establishing recent history and problems with the plant, and the relationship between siblings Joe and Ellen, who become trapped when disaffected former workers break in and enter the control room. Anne O’Riordan and Aidan O’Callaghan work well as the siblings, creating a good sense of tension as the play progresses. The scenario would have benefited from being a little more realistic; some of the circumstances presented appeared highly unlikely. More character development would … Read more
REVIEW: Tell Me Anything, New Wolsey Theatre, Pulse Festival ✭✭✭
Tell Me Anything New Wolsey Theatre (Pulse Festival) 2 June 2017 3 Stars Pulse Festival Information One of the unique features of the Wolsey’s Pulse Festival is the Suitcase Prize. Now in its fifth year, the day asks theatre makers to think in an environmentally and economically sustainable way, to create a piece that can travel on public transport with a very low carbon footprint. The day consists of ten twenty minute excerpts of shows at different stages of development, and the winner is awarded £1000 and the chance to perform it at the next Pulse. The 2016 winner was Tell Me Anything by On The Run, a beautiful, tender piece written and performed by Daniel Ralfe. When he was 15, his then girlfriend had an eating disorder, and the biographical play focuses on his responses, his attempts to deal with her and the illness, and raises many questions- asked … Read more
