Theatre / black comedy
Preview: Fat Man, Brewery Theatre
The award-winning Move to Stand present this black comedy that bridges the everyday with the celestial. In a wickedly funny version of the Greek myth, a grief-stricken Orpheus becomes a doughnut-obsessed comedian.
Orpheus is doing stand-up for the gods. A sharp new take on a classic myth, this is a bitterly funny story of love, loss and eating your way out of grief. As the audience are transformed into the gods of legend, will Orpheus ever escape his past?
“I wanted to make a show about grief, about losing everything, and this archetypal story of loss felt like a great starting point,” explains performer Martin Bonger. “Our Orpheus has tumbled from being a great and powerful musician to a man trapped by his own failure. His fatness is a kind of symbol of that trapped state: he’s carrying around the weight of his grief.
“This Orpheus is a complicated figure – wearied by the constant repetition of his story, and with a sharp tongue. But he is also recognisably human and flawed, and his genuine sadness creates a way in for audiences to empathise with him.”
Martin was inspired, in his creation of the role, by comedians such as Bill Hicks and Louis C.K. “Those comics dig into tragedy through comedy and use laughter to cross over into dark or painful material. Although the stand-up is integral to the piece, I am still very much an actor engaging with story and narrative and character.”
Expect a mixture of comedy and something much more profound. “The piece plays with comedy – it is filled with quips and absurdist riffs – but it is really an exploration of the cycle of grief,” Martin explains. It goes into the experiences of denial and rage and sorrow, but is ultimately a story of transcendence, of breaking through to begin again.”
The piece also features a specially-composed musical score by Philippe Nash. “Philippe’s music is a brilliant other presence, able to subtly respond to the narrative as it evolves,” Martin explains. “The score also opens up the different worlds Orpheus enters, creating spaces for him to laugh, and dance – and meet his demons.”
It looks a demanding, physical role. “It is physically demanding. I finish the show and it feels like I’ve done an hour’s workout. I’m certainly burning off the doughnuts I eat.”
Fat Man is at The Brewery Theatre, Bristol from Tuesday, March 17 to Saturday, March 28. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com/shows/detail/fat_man
Pic: Alex Brenner
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