Hungry for adventure, it was a relief to leave the bright efficiency of the box office tent, and side-step into the dusky Stanmer village church yard where dark figures had been lurking and another reality within the familiar setting of Stanmer Park (a country park just outside of Brighton) awaited.
The Company of Wolves, Shiona Morton’s adaptation of Angela Carter’s stories, promised a spine-tingling outdoor experience and warned that if we strayed from the path for one instant, the wolves would eat us.
We had been divided into runners – the fleet of foot ‘Hunters’, and walkers – the eagle-eyed ‘Gatherers’, and Burn the Curtain’s promenade theatre adventure had begun.
The Gatherers were smoothly ushered by Nun/Guides to join the Bride’s portion of the congregation; Hunters the Groom’s. Pete the Preacher greeted us and after a warm up ‘Hymn’ it became clear that the Bride-to-be was not coming. Enter the wild-eyed Duke, (Richard Feltham) in Gothic attire to announce darkly that the Wolf had taken her, there was no time to lose. And so it was with some trepidation and delicious anticipation that I set off – To The Woods!
The two groups divided and were taken on separate routes, Gatherers to find the Bride, Hunters to kill the Wolf, each having their own unique experience and collecting clues to share later. I was amongst the walking gatherers. We headed out at a steady pace before catching sight of Ruby, a Red Riding Hood figure dashing along along the sun set horizon, cape flying behind her – an archetypical image, powerful and moving – like stepping inside the pages of the fairy tale, or falling into a dark dream.
We gave chase. Soon we caught up with Ruby (Becky Baker), who was as beguiling, charming and feisty as you could possibly hope for, I felt I had met the ‘real’ Red Riding Hood, so authentically did she personify her character. She expertly spun clues into stories, led and held the group seamlessly.
The story moved on a pace, passing from Ruby to the Huntsman (Alexander Warn), and back, from scene to scene and one clue to the next – via encounters with Alice (Becca Savory), and occasional brushes with packs of wolves, the story drew us on.
The Hunters, Gatherers and cast met at the top of Stanmer Park, looking down over the lights of Brighton, ‘Our Village’, declared the Duke. It was here amid cups of tea and clue-sharing conversations with fellow seekers that the Duke, questioned about his incriminating diary turned very nasty, and delivered a magnificent ‘shut up’ snarl. We were off again.
My enthusiasm began to wane a little in the second half, I no longer believed that I, or anyone, would be eaten, or even dragged off and mauled – not even a Guide. We’d encountered the headlamp-eyed wolf head-on and his mention now instilled laugher not fear. My clue-seeking sharp eyes wondered why the Duke wore incongruous modern trainers when Ruby’s shoes were so in keeping with the aesthetic of the piece, why Granny’s voice had come from a blood-splattered fake bird box, and why the backpack speakers were covered in attention-seeking hessian when the lights and cameras were left in their purely functional invisibility. And the decision to have the Nun/Guides in semi-costume seemed a strange one.
Barring that, the costumes and design details were exquisite: Ruby’s wolf fur bag and leather holstered hunter’s knife, the beautiful bundles of herbs along the path, and the fairy-lit sticks from Grandma’s house.
Burn the Curtain expertly delivered this beautifully crafted theatre adventure, but whilst there is a strong body of work drawn on – not only Angela Carter’s Company of Wolves but also The Bloody Chamber, with references to The Werewolf, Wolf-Alice, and Peter and the Wolf in the mix – it lacks a deeper sense of twisting menace, and the darker sexual themes of Carter’s stories. But perhaps this was a necessary compromise to deliver a performance for the whole family? (It was advertised as suitable for age 8+.)
Amongst other things Burn the Curtain aim to encourage: intergenerational play, engagement with the great outdoors, enjoyment of theatre and performance, active participation in theatre and performance at a number of different levels, and the combination of crafts, theatre and physical activity – so although I did stray from the path and the wolves didn’t eat me up, they did deliver on those other, perhaps more important promises.
All is forgiven in the grand finale which delivers spectacle and tension, disrupting audience/ performer roles, and giving the audience the power to decide the ending.
Howwwwl!