Theatre / angus barr
Preview: We Are Bronte, Wardrobe Theatre
As an alternative to this month’s Brontë action at Bristol Old Vic, Bristol’s brilliant comic theatre company Publick Transport is offering us a distinctly different view of the sisters’ Gothic/Romantic world.
We Are Brontë is a piece of comic visual theatre inspired by the real and imaginary worlds of Yorkshire’s literary siblings, presented in Publick Transport’s irreverent style. Physical theatre collides with stand-up, clowning and improvisation as two performers deconstruct not only Gothic themes of love, madness, repression and revenge – but also themselves. Part play, part enquiry into the act of putting on a play, this promises to be no ordinary Brontë adaptation.
is needed now More than ever
“The task we set ourselves was to make something where the audience are genuinely uncertain whether or not they are supposed to laugh – the polar opposite of ‘knowing comedy’, where the performers are winking at the audience,” explains Publick Transport’s founder and performer Angus Barr. “The theory is that the audience will laugh all the more because they will have been allowed to discover what’s funny for themselves, and the process of holding it in will make it erupt all the more violently: the danger is that they won’t laugh at all!
“It’s a development of Publick Transport’s exploration of modern clown, taking it closer to the edge – somewhere our director Ed Rapley was not afraid to go. The Brontës were ripe material because theirs is among the most serious of English literature, and that mirthless tone suits our purposes. In our attempt to steer clear of parody we have kept dialogue to a minimum, so it has ended up a very physical piece.”
We Are Bronte Wardrobe Theatre, Tuesday, Feb 19 to Saturday, Feb 23. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.thewardrobetheatre.com/livetheatre/we-are-bronte