The rhyming couplets still echo in my head after a night out at the pub with the National Theatre of Scotland, and the power of storytelling lingers, as does the pervasive sense of fun this work evokes. The pub within the pub story is one part of the allure of The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart; fantastically dynamic folk singing is another. Successfully evoking the feel of a pub ‘lock in’, where patrons are entertained by songs and fanciful stories on a cold Scottish night, this creation by David Greig (together with Wils Wilson) relies heavily on the former’s writing skills; his ballad about a ballad in rhyming couplets, ranging from ‘complex was Electra’ to ‘she become a collector’, is one of the reasons the audience was compelled from the opening scenes.
Following their award-winning, sold out season at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, this Perth season of The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart is the penultimate leg of a year-long tour, but you wouldn’t know it from tonight’s performance; their spontaneity and timing couldn’t have been better.
Direction by Wils Wilson allows the actors to seamlessly move across the pub (in this case a very hot Perth loft) as a wave, utilising table tops and carpets as imagined landmarks when their story starts to explore the topography of Hell. We stride through a range of crazy ideas, with the richness of the text illustrated by post modernist academic theories, references to Kylie Minogue and tweeting, Border ballads, and the banality of living eternally with the Devil.
The excellent performances by all the troupe were a treat to behold – not only bringing the audience into this participatory performance (we enthusiastically ‘mumbled’ on cue) but leaping back and forth to create the folk band (with harmoniums, recorders and a steady bass beat in some cases), and leading a modern Karaoke party group with footy chants: ‘Guantanamera…There’s only one…’
Special mention should be made of Melody Grove’s star turn as the intensely emotional Prudencia Hart, David McKay’s spellbindingly evil Devil, and Alasdair Macrae’s folk musical brilliance, but this group of actors and musicians work their magic best as a team. The full house sometimes seemed to grapple with the Scottish accents, despite the actors’ clear enunciation, but once immersed, it added a lovely musicality to the rhyming language.
The notion of a group of troubadours entertaining the crowd (which these experienced actors and musicians did with élan) relies in part on the lack of the proscenium arch between audience and actors to ensure its success. It’s a joyful cultural experience; one that fully utilises its Scottish identity and language, and delights the whole way through. Don’t miss it!
Rating: 4 ½ stars out of 5
The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart
Created by David Greig and Wils Wilson
Composer/Musical Direction by Alasdair Macrae
Designed by Georgia McGuinness
Movement Direction by Janice Parker
Performed by Annie Grace, Melody Grove, Alasdair Macrae, Paul McCole and David McKay
Little Creatures Loft, Fremantle
12 – 15 February
Perth Festival 2013
www.perthfestival.com.au
8 February – 2 March
ADDITIONAL DATES:
The German Club, Adelaide
1 – 9 March
www.adelaidefestival.com.au
