Montague Place
Mischief La-Bas' new touring show premieres at Big in Falkirk on 29 and 30 April.
Mischief La-Bas concentrates mainly on ‘walkabout’ theatre with a humorous bent - their characters gently interfering with people when they least expect it. A Mischief performer never drops out of character, whatever the circumstance – a skill which convinces the public to just accept that, for the time being - things are different. Mischief call their presentations ‘manifestations’ and they like to present several during an engagement, having over 40 to choose from.
Some have become popular classics, such as ‘The Elvis Cleaning Company’ and ‘The Paparazzi’ but if the occasion demands it, the company still creates new manifestations tailored or adapted for a particular situation.
Occasionally, through commissioning, the company has been able to undertake more substantial artistic projects and collaborations.
One most recently was Painful Creatures, a touring show featuring the commissioned work of 10 international artists and a cast of 37 performers. This show toured six cities in 2004 (Falkirk, Brighton, Bradford, Sotteville les Rouens, Graz, and London).
After the success of Painful Creatures, Mischief La-Bas now attempt their second outdoor large-scale touring show - Montague Place.
Not wishing to repeat a formula, artistic director Ian Smith has devised several new ways of challenging expectations:
- Outdoor work often uses the local environment. Mischief will build their own.
- Many outdoor spectacles involve hours of 'build up' and a fifteen-minute finale. Mischief will present a cartoon-like fifteen-minute show many, many times.
- Contemporary drama might be expected to tackle issues of global significance. Mischief want to see if they can make a big modern version of a Victorian penny-slot machine.
- Mischief will chop their audience into manageable lumps of up to 200 so that everybody gets a chance.
- Mischief performers are renowned for their interactive and improvisational skills. This involves synchronised movement, rapid costume change, and...God forbid - a rehearsal.
- Just when the National Theatre of Scotland recognises the freedom of playing outside little boxes, Mischief go and build some.
In short, Montague Place is an experiment. A diversion. A reaction against the medium of tedium. And even experiments that go wrong leave interesting residue in your test tubes.
Montague Place features the construction of a town square - a completely ‘closed set’ with a dramatic entrance façade. To a specially composed soundtrack, characters seen through the windows act out a strange ‘day in a life’ scenario. This takes place simultaneously (featuring identical performers in identical situations) throughout the square. The 'day' lasts fifteen minutes, and a fresh audience is ushered in before the cycle repeats, again and again. This absurd piece of choreography is designed to appeal to a wide audience, with no limitations of language, culture, or even common sense.
Look out for performance details of Montague Place on Mischief La-Bas' website. |