As venues go, The Vaults isn’t going to win any awards for audience comfort. It’s dark, chilly and damp; trains rumble alarmingly overhead and every sound echoes off the tunnel walls. All of which makes it an ideal place to experience Golem!’s Tomorrow Creeps, a spooky, dramatic and powerfully atmospheric collision of Shakespeare, Kate Bush, David Lynch, Hannibal Lecter… The hour-long play draws on so many cultural influences it’s hard to keep up.
Following on from previous productions Macbeths and I Know You Of Old, in Tomorrow Creeps writer and actor David Fairs creates an original story by combining lines from sixteen works of Shakespeare with inspiration provided by the music of Kate Bush. In his dank prison cell, the Fallen Tyrant is visited by the Hollow Hero who, against his better judgment, is seeking the villain’s help to find his daughter. But he’s not the only visitor; the spirit of the Fallen Tyrant’s dead wife is there too, and she’s not about to let him go without a fight.
That’s a simple summary of a story that at times is all a bit bewildering – theatregoers who favour straightforward, easy to follow storylines may struggle to get on board. In reality, though, the plot of the play is only one element of a complex production that weaves together text, light, sound and space to produce something that’s hard to put into words (always a fun challenge for a reviewer). Ultimately, I’d suggest not trying to make sense of everything that’s happening and instead just going with it, because there’s a lot here that’s great. It can often sound negative to leave a play and remark, “That was an experience.” But in this case, it genuinely is.
The play was devised specifically for The Vaults, and the space allows for an element of realism; there’s never a moment when we don’t feel we’re right there in the prison with the characters. But this is above all a tale of fantasy, of supernatural forces and witchcraft, and director Anna Marsland brings this to life with an outstanding lighting design that picks out details, casts dramatic shadows and at times makes the whole space come alive with dizzying movement. The spooky atmosphere is heightened by Odinn Hilmarsson’s sound design, which subtly draws out the existing soundscape of the venue to spine-chilling effect.
Equally chilling are the performances of the three actors, as each character teeters on the brink of their own unique madness. Conor O’Kane is the picture of despair and self-loathing as the Hollow Hero, a broken man who’s lost everything and has now been reduced to asking for help from his enemy. David Fairs’ Fallen Tyrant is more controlled and charismatic in his exchanges with the Hollow Hero (I half expected him to start talking about fava beans and a nice Chianti) – but he too is tormented by forces beyond his control. Enter Zena Carswell as the Spectral Queen: passionate, wild and mud-spattered, she’s the living embodiment of Cathy from Wuthering Heights.
Though it continues the Golem! tradition of repurposing Shakespeare texts, Tomorrow Creeps is without doubt their most ambitious project by some margin. It won’t be for everyone, but it also doesn’t exclude anyone – for those who know and love Shakespeare, there’s the enjoyable challenge of identifying the source texts; for fans of Kate Bush there are some electrifying moments that I won’t ruin for you. Having said that, there’s nothing in the play that demands inside knowledge – and someone with no particular interest in either Shakespeare or Kate Bush is at no disadvantage compared to any other audience member.
As I said, it’s difficult to put into words. So all I can suggest is that you go and see, hear, feel and experience it for yourself.
Can’t see the map on iPhone? Try turning your phone to landscape and that should sort it. I don’t know why but I’m working on it… 😉
Theatre Things 