Stovepipe: a new promenade performance by Adam Brace
Last night I had the pleasure of attending a preview performance of Adam Brace’s new play, Stovepipe in Shepherds Bush.
Stovepipe is an indoor promenade performance at a location in Shepherd’s Bush where audiences observe the unravelling of HighTide Production’s original drama whilst being guided through five-star hotel bars, seedy brothels and war-torn desert landscapes.
The location was none other than the basement of the West12 Shopping Centre (now firmly rooted in the shadow of the new Westfield complex) which had been painstakingly restyled to resemble various permutations of a post-war Middle East.
I have to say that I’d been looking forward to this performance for a while particularly as I had heard so many rave reviews about last year’s Masque of the Red Death which I regrettably wasn’t able to attend. The whole concept of a promenade performance puts the audience at the centre of the action. Rather than being a casual observer of a narrative performed on a static stage, the audience moves around the set with the actors, interacting with the props, furnishings and often playing an active part in the play’s sequence of events.
The story of Stovepipe focuses on the experiences of ex-journalist turned playwright Adam Brace who witnessed first-hand the face of the new Middle East during his recent tour of Amman.
The play follows in the footsteps of Alan a modern-day mercenary who has just been serving with the Parachute Regiment in Iraq. On his last rotation he watched his friend Grif burn alive in his armoured vehicle. And now Eddy, a fellow serviceman and Alan’s best friend, has gone AWOL in Jordan. Alan breaks protocol and embarks upon a hunt across the post-war Middle East to find him.
The casting of this production was faultless – with Shaun Dooley taking on the lead role supported by Christian Bradley, Niall Macgregor, Sargon Yelda and the stunning Eleanor Matsuura. Each carried the play beautifully, convincingly portraying fairly complex personas with a catalogue of persuasive accents and rapid costume changes.
The true excitement of the evening came from the extraordinary detail that went into dressing the promenade set. In the space of ninety minutes, we became delegates of a ‘Rebuild Iraq’ conference in Jordan, were flies on a hotel room wall, perched on barstools in a seedy Russian Bar in Iraq, voyeuristically visited the ‘Company HQ’ and were ushered through the darkened curfew of the streets of Basara under gunfire.
The intimate nature of the performance encouraged emotionally charged performances and reactions respectively from the cast and audience. I have to admit there were scenes where I actually forgot that I was watching a play – and actually believed that I was in a Jordanian hotel lobby or a back street brothel bar in Iraq.
This very brave piece from HighTide Production in collaboration with the National Theatre and The Bush Theatre tackles head-on the issues of corruption, loyalty, economics and optimism in a post-war Iraq in a way which refuses to paint black and white caricatures of modern-day heroes and villains.
The following snippet from the FT says it all:
HighTide’s hands-on approach reminds us that a play is the sum of all the investment in it.
Stovepipe is playing at the West12 Shopping Centre, The Broadway, Shepherd’s Bush until April 26.
You can view the trailer here.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Great review that does justice to the play! I feel like I went to the Middle East and back in 90 minutes with my favourite soldier!
I must say I disagree with you on a few points – I was also at the preview last night. I think that while the subject matter is fascinating and important, the play was essentially a stage show which had been ‘transported’ to a site specific show. There was no real reason why it was site specific – we weren’t involved so much as shepherded about. I didn’t feel integrated into the action in the same way that something like Masque of the Red Death forced you to take part – and where everyone saw a different play. Last night we all observed action but there was a very simplistic use of the space.
Another thing that disappointed me was that the one female character had to play mere caricatures: a sexy ballbreaker, a prostitute etc.
However, the main guy was very very strong and I was engaged with the narrative. I just think that they could have gone further to develop the space and the action so that it became more than a gimmic.
Hi Ruth
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Whilst I didn’t catch the Masque of the Red Death, I understand that it was very interactive and encouraged the audience to participate in the action a lot more than Stovepipe did.
However, I don’t think that the promenade medium has to be totally immersive in order for us to enjoy the performance. I certainly felt more involved in the narrative and I would disagree with you on the point that the use of the space was very simplistic. The scene where the civilian ‘coke/pepsi’ smuggler was shot actually made fantastic use of sound and lighting which put you at the centre of the action. The final scene was also a great use of the space and showed-off the set-dressing talent that went on behind the scenes.
I think that some of the dialogue which came from all three female characters actually showed glimpses of more complex personaes which could have been explored further. The role of the journalist was a bit superfluous but i can’t fault the performances.
I certainly didn’t feel that the walkabout was a gimmick – in fact it allowed me to get more from the excellent performances.
Have you seen any other promenade performances other than Masque of the Red Death? I’d be interested in hearing about more which are coming up in London.
Thanks so much for your thoughts…
Rax
Rax….Sophie went to see this last night and said it was fantastic! I’m definitely going to try and see this as promenade performances are amazing – I saw the Masque of the Red Death and it was the single best theatre experience I’ve seen – and being in the business….I’ve seen quite a few! Stovepipe – here I come!
Anthony – it’s good but it’s no Casanova!
I saw this on friday night. First, the other comments. I don’t think that it’s meant to be site-specific, it’s just put on in that space. I don’t know how masque of the red death is site specific either because there’s nothing about an old town hall/theater that has anything to do with the poe story. Not all promenades are the same, some tell stories, some let you find a story. I have to say that I don’t have a problem with the female characters either, the prostitute wasn’t a caricature and the journalist, yeah maybe not really necessary but she seemed like a person. The boss woman seemed like a pretty strong female character you don’t normally see. My problem with the play was the politics – it seemed like it wanted to ignore the issue of the troops, the invasion and take it as a given that what we did was right somehow. It is extremely irresponsible to go into a subject like this and not look at the rights and wrongs of it. It’s like saying it was ok. I was waiting and waiting for something about it and it never comes, then at the end we’re asked to mourn a man who shot civilians. Please!
I have been quoted above by my beloved but I thought I would add a few more points – the main appeal of Stovepipe for me was the outstanding acting and the fantastic sets. It could well have been a stage performance but it worked equally well as a promenande one – and why not? There is so much going on in theatre that it is really exciting to go and see something a bit different. We were just on the periphery alot of the time but even them you were right up close to the actors and could not help but admire their focus and their ability to merge from one character to the next so seamlessly that you even wonder if it is the same person. Its true that it didn’t go into the politics but maybe it was just a play about people – actually its quite brave to do a play about Iraq and choose not to tackle the wider moral issues. It would have been a far different experience if it had. Also, you can’t compare this with Masque of the Red Death – the only similarity was that you walk around. MOTRD was a sensory experience where the story was secondary and Stovepipe is a definite play with a clear narrative. Anyway, I’m going again!
Looks like I’ve missed this one. Shame, sounds like an excellent performance. I love it when the performances are able to really engage and involve the audience. Its strange when you feel like your actually there! Is this on again anywhere else?
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