Shay Mace
Read our write-up of Day 2 of Gateway Festival here:
Across three nights at Gateway Festival in Edinburgh’s Studio Theatre, six new one act plays are performed two a piece, back-to-back, with vague groupings of theme and identity providing a tether for each evening. The third and final night saw the themes of violence and class take centre stage, in their most oppressive and vivid forms, seeing Will Osbon’s dark comedy ULTRAVIOLENCE! first take place in an art lesson that soon evolves into something much darker, and James Stedman’s Steam set deep amongst the engines of a classist steam train society hurtling through space.
This edition of Gateway Festival has seen the extremely supportive and hard-working team at Dracume Theatre provide an immensely fascinating set of new plays, and platform local emerging writers, directors, designers, stage managers and performers with vigour and vitality. It has been an exceptional offering, filled with joy, discussion and big themes, all given space and time to breathe, and open up wonderful conversations.
ULTRAVIOLENCE! – Fervid First Staging of Bleak and Sinister Kidnap Play
Will Osbon’s script sees young Student played by Josh Menzies enamoured with the opportunity to enter his distinguished Teacher’s private art studio for a mock exam not soon to be forgotten. When his muse, the Model, played by Eva De Luca, arrives and only speak French, it first appears we’re in for an hour of lost-in-translation hilarity. But before long, the Teacher is keen to show off his studio’s expansive new security features, and it becomes clear that this Student and Model are trapped until ‘perfection’ is achieved. There’s more than fine art on the line for all involved, with little respite, in this graphic and involving story.
As the denouement arrives, and we realise that not everyone is leaving the studio alive, there’s much fervent tension captured between the desperate Student and nonchalant Model, who has become quite used to a life of abhorrent abuse. Characterisation from Menzies is especially strong, and he is equal parts a believable and sympathy-inducing character, with a lax tone of voice and body language well befitting of his character’s status in the story. Menzies and De Luca both present the predicament well, with naturalistic style that enraptures, though a more astute staging of the play might have taken greater use of the aesthetic and moral quandaries inherent in Osbon’s plot to develop a broader theatrical language, that meets the torrid conversations that the duo are subjected to.
Depravity is a difficult state to form on stage, and this first outing of the piece captures only a slight feeling of how the Teacher has gotten to inflicting this level of psychological horror, that could soon be developed into something absolutely captivating. Osbon’s script is pitch-black, sinister, and at points obscure, and there’s much textural wealth to be unpacked as ULTRAVIOLENCE! continues its journey of creative development.
Recommended Drink: Pair this with a leathery, savoury glass of Tempranillo Red Wine.
Steam – Rich and Lucid Sci-Fi Spectacle, As Personal As It Is Brazen
Condemned to a life of indentured servitude in the blast furnaces of a steam train-cum-spaceship hurtling through space, Frank longs for a visit from his husband, Teddy, who gets to ride first class and spend his days wining, dining, and discussing the vessel’s continuing journey to a promised utopian planet in the distant reaches of the galaxy. At first glance, you might expect James Stedman’s ambitious script to fall on its own sword in forging such an expansive story-world in just 50 minutes, but his steady hand on the tiller means the audience is totally captivated within the romance, and latterly the oppressive class system, of Frank and Teddy’s romance. It is a bold, brazen piece, that never shies away from displaying obscene sexuality and vivid violence, that may contain very difficult moments for some to watch, but for those with the appetite, this is a vibrant and abundant sci-fi concept drama without repent.
Gracie Spencer’s dynamic, thrilling direction is complimented by expansive production design from Jack Read, Eric Rogers, Alyssa Tinfina, and implemented by Alice Jones. This includes flashing light bars that form Frank’s cage, mighty banners draping the back of the stage, and intense physical performances that swoon with their emotion and vitality. Devin Mcwhirter brings such a cohesive and impressive vivacity to Frank’s character arc, that never halters for a moment, as we are catapulted across the oppressive society in which he inhabits, and how his desires will soon overcome even the most tyrannical barriers presented to him by Gabriel Bird’s snobbish and upright Teddy, and Oliver Bett’s snarling performance as the furnace’s Supervisor. It’s a powerful, unstoppable ménage à trois that never slows down for a minute.
Intimacy co-ordination from Georgia Johnson brings sense to a very difficult set of encounters, that come with as much starkness as can possibly be deployed, but never taking away the humanity from any of the characters, and in particular, Frank’s awful predicament. The expansive worldbuilding and introspective closeness of the script is managed in consistently striking balance, in unflinching synchronicity across production, performance and direction. There’s little theatrical skill not shown off in this tight fifty minute piece, that begs for a full staging at the nearest opportunity. It goes without saying, I was utterly captured by it.
Recommended Drink: Head down to Teddy’s carriage for the finest vintage wine, to cool off the immense and unbearable heat.
