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s we’ve learned from countless MGM summer-stock musicals, theatre-makers are a resilient bunch. Faced with the kind of obstacles that would floor less imaginative folk, they think outside the box. No ready-made stage available? Hey! My uncle has a barn! Let’s put the show on right there! However, lockdown presented a problem that no-one – no, not even a terminally plucky Mickey Rooney – had faced before. Lacking a physical theatre is one thing – you can, indeed put a play on in a barn, or a church hall, or a tent – but showbiz just ain’t showbiz without an audience. Clearly, a vertigo-inducing amount of pivoting was called for. “Theatres all over the country responded to the devastation of lockdown with wild invention,” says Tom Morris, artistic director of Bristol Old Vic. “From the Minack in Cornwall to Slung Low in Leeds, the rules of theatre have been rewritten on an hourly basis. Inspired by colleagues across the country, we were determined to do whatever was necessary to continue offering live, inspiring entertainment to Bristol. In the chaos of lockdown, we are pursuing experiments which will bring laughter, entertainment, music and poeticism to you at home, as well as in the theatre.” In other words: hey kids, let’s take the shows online! While the Bristol Old Vic winter season has optimistically scheduled a smattering of live shows, the programme mostly comes down to this: filmed versions of some of their greatest hits, screened in a digital form so that people can watch them at home. Here’s how it works. Between now and the end of February, five much-loved productions from Bristol Old Vic’s back catalogue will be available on demand. All five productions can be accessed with a season pass costing just £12.99 – that’s cheaper than a bumper tin of Quality Street! – which gives unlimited access to the full season until 28 February 2021. Individual shows can also be viewed separately for £4.50. Running alongside the digital shows are a few live-streamed plays, shown in a socially-distanced theatre to the few and screened to the masses; we’ll get to those in a bit. First of all, let’s breakdown those five online shows, which are all available to watch right now.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
What? Simply one of our two most-favourite-ever Bristol Old Vic Christmas shows. The other one was Peter Pan, Pan, if anyone cares. Who’s it for? Kids aged 7+ and their lucky, lucky families. What’s the story? You seriously need to ask? OK. It’s Christmas Eve, and a bleak night awaits miserly money-lender Ebenezer Scrooge. Before dawn breaks he’ll be visited by a series of ghosts, who show him chilling portraits of his past, present and future. Will he come to see the bitter truth of his selfish life and the true meaning of Christmas by morning? It’s just a hunch, but we reckon he might . . . Why should we watch? It’s a Christmas feast of a show, with a charismatic John Hopkins as Scrooge, a witty script by Tom Morris and ebullient performances all round. Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man. What did the critics say? “A witty captivatingly fresh look at Dickens” – The Stage Told you it was funny. Anything else? It’s Bristol Old Vic’s best-selling Christmas show of all time.
THE GRINNING MAN
What? Cult musical created by Tom Morris and Carl Grose. Just like Les Misérables,, it was adapted from a story by Victor Hugo, but instead of ‘French Misérables revolution’ think ‘dark fairy tale set in a vaguely mediaeval kingdom peppered with fairground freaks, lascivious royals and friendly wolves’. Who’s it for? 12+ What’s the story? A bizarre new act has arrived at Stokes Croft fairground. Who is Grinpayne, and how did he get his hideous smile? An epic tale of an abandoned, disfigured child, the sightless girl who loves him, and a father figure with a secret. Why should we watch? Because it’s a modern masterpiece, with buckets of brio and endless amounts of wit, originality and invention. It has the best score we’ve heard in a musical for decades; you’ll want to buy the record. The puppetry by Gyre & Gimble is astonishing, and the vocals are spinetingling; just wait until you hear Sean Kingsley, who sounds exactly like Tom Waits.
Grab your box of locally-made artisan popcorn and settle down after dinner with A Christmas Carol
www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 19