Preview: Golem, Bristol Old Vic

Like a giant graphic novel burst into life, theatre company 1927 invites you to take a step through the looking glass into a dark and fantastical tale of an extraordinary ordinary man.

Blending 1927’s synthesis of handmade animation, claymation, live music and performance, Golem is a dystopian fable for the 21st century, which cleverly and satirically explores one of the great questions of the modern world: who or what is in control of our technologies?

Golem is the follow up to 1927’s hit international shows The Animals and Children took to the Streets and The Magic Flute (created in collaboration with Komische Oper Berlin).

“A cracked, exaggerated, funhouse mirror reflection of our world that you could stare into for days” – Time Out
“Funny, unsettling and unforgettable…a Frankenstein for the 21st Century…alive with irony, imagination and humanity” – The Times
Here’s the company to tell us more.

Animation, claymation, live music, performance: which role does each medium perform in Golem?
It has been a very organic process. We came together and just worked with all the elements we had in the company. Although we always use animation and live performance in our shows, the styles of animation sometimes alter to fit the story: for example, with Golem we wanted the show to be based around a clay-based character. In Jewish folklore, the golem is traditionally made out of clay and we wanted to be faithful to that (although our golem is actually made out of Plasticine). Other shows we have made have featured purely paper puppets.

When do you allow one medium to dominate the others?
It’s all to do with the storytelling: it’s whatever is needed at that point in the story. We use moments of film in certain moments of the show, when we want to take the audience on a different journey. Or if we want something more intimate, we have a moment where the animation closes in on the actor and we just focus on the actor.

Is it a particularly challenging mix of media to get right? Does it place unusual demands on the performers?
Working on a 1927 show is quite a specific skillset! Some actors enjoy it, others not so much. When you are onstage you are keeping an eye on where you’re stood (each actor has specific spike marks on the floor to help them stand in the correct place in order to blend with the animation correctly). They also have to keep an ear on the music (a lot of the show is loosely set to music, and all the dialogue is on rhythm).
There is also a ‘cuer’, our technician who fires a button which plays each separate film cue in order; they are working off both music cues and actors’ cues. So all of these elements have to come together for the show to work. The actor has to be aware of all of this whilst still having the truth of their character… it all sounds strangely straitjacketing but it can actually be freeing as you are very much part of an ensemble.
I enjoy trying to bring the projections to life, in rehearsal, we’ll often play around with what movements, reactions etcetera help the actor to be in the same place as the animation. A slight reaction to the animation’s movements can make all the difference.

1927: what’s in the name? Why is that year of particular significance (for you)?
Our first show was heavily inspired by silent film, but we had spoken word in it too.. so we thought 1927 encapsulated that mood.It was the year the first ‘talkie’ came out (The Jazz Singer). It was when film and spoken word came to life, which you see in our shows.

Any artists and/or filmmakers who have influenced your style (I can clearly see Weimar-era Berlin in there…)?
Art movements, such as the Russian avant-garde, have inspired our work, as has the work of Czech animator and artist Jan Svankmajer. We all watch a lot of films, so much of our inspiration comes from film. But I also think our style has come from merging a 2D and 3D world. Some moments are very pictorial, almost like a poster image, whereas other moments are much more fluid, inspired by old-school animations. Our acting style is very gestural, designed to work in tandem with the animations.

Do you simply want to captivate audiences with the show’s unique, playful mix of media, or do you also hope to send them away thinking about modernity, the rush to innovate, etcetera?
We try not to be too didactic with our shows. We want them to always be entertaining but we all think it’s important to comment on what is happening around us at the time of making the show. We hope the show makes the audience contemplate not only our reliance on technology but our use of it.
The psychologist and behaviourist B.F.Skinner said: “The real problem is not whether machines think: but whether men do.”

Golem is at Bristol Old Vic from Wednesday, May 31 to Saturday, June 3. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.bristololdvic.org.uk/golem.html