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Preview by Paul Nelson
The Bedlamb Theatre Company is to return to Baron's Court
Theatre with a short season comprising three new plays.
All the plays to be performed are well written, combining a strong
element of black comedy with moving accounts of individuals' struggles
with their daily lives, relationships and hopes of realising their
potential.
Me and My Friend, by Gillian Plowman, is a black comedy
following the early release of four patients from a mental health
hospital.
The King and Me, by Hanif Kureishi, focuses on a woman's
obsession with Elvis and how this affects her state of mind, outlook
on life and marriage.
Wanda's Visit, by Christopher Durang, focuses on a couple's
relationship and what happens when they get a visit from one of
the husband's eccentric long lost school friends.
The performances will start at 7.30pm, Tuesdays-Saturdays, Sundays
4.30pm.
There will be no performance on Mondays. The plays are currently
running for the rest of the month. Baron's Court Theatre, 28A
Comeragh Road, Baron's Court, London W14. Box Office 020 8932
4747.
Me and My Friend:
Four people recently released from psychiatric care. The play
shows how they cope in everyday life and how they relate to each
other. All want to lead normal lives and escape from their past
problems which led them to be institutionalised. They are desperately
trying to learn to face up to their problems but can they overcome
them?
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Wanda Visit:
A bored, middle-class couple are visited by an eccentric, overbearing
school friend of the husband who proceeds to turn their world
upside down. Her strange behaviour make them assess their lifestyle
and relationship.
'This play is essentially about pressure. Newton said that each
action has an equal and opposite reaction. So what is the reaction
if a supernova were to explode in our living room?
"How would we react to such an action? Well, what doesn't
kill us makes us stronger, in some ways. I want to capture the
feeling of claustrophobia that Jim and Marsha feel during Wanda's
visit.
"Baron's Court is an apt venue for this and the other two
plays. The low ceiling and the confined setting of the stage captures
the feeling of our mind as the interface at which pressure is
exerted from within by our souls and from outward by the world.
"We cannot escape from this world, and we cannot escape
from ourselves. Which choices will our mind present to us? There
is always more than one choice' (Joe Clark, Director)
The King and Me:
A couple who live on a council estate are desperate to get out
of their
rut. The wife escapes manifests itself as an Elvis obsession which
she projects onto her husband who enters Elvis impressionist competitions
to please her. Ultimately, they must assess the life they share
together.
All three plays show different aspects of mental disorder in
different and varying levels be it disturbance, eccentricity or
obsession and demonstrate
how it affects those closest to them.
The Bedlamb Theatre Company was set up by a group of students
from the Morley College in 2001. All its members live in London.
The company was set up to act as an umbrella operation, where
each production is treated as an individual project.
As well as its members getting involved in productions, the company
will seek directors and actors from outside if a production requires
this.
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