A Company In Their Element

Brief Candle describe this piece as a play for “family audiences”. As a seasoned and cynical single man I wondered what that meant. Is it really possible to present a piece of work on The Fringe which would appeal to all ages that wasn’t saccharine and twee? If such a thing were possible, surely it wouldn’t have an edge or a message.

Wrong. Written by Paul Whitfield this is as exciting and dynamic a piece of theatre as I have seen this year and it did hold the attention of the whole audience, some of them as young as three or four. On one level it’s a simple morality tale. In an ancient, mythical world, the tribes or races are defined by the four elements, earth, air, fire and water. Ruled over by a stern deity the four peoples are forbidden from interacting. One of the earth or Mud People, Loam (Stuart Rooker) defies these rules, and falls in love with Asha (Francesca Larkin) of the Fire Tribe. What follows is a breathtakingly fast and often very funny yarn of love triumphing over obstacles. The four actors (Samantha Worall as Shell and Robert Snell as Nimbus complete the quartet) are all extraordinarily versatile and the performance committed. Whitfield’s script is clever and brave – some of it is actually quite scary, not balking at dealing with death and pain in front of its mostly very young audience.

Under David Shimwell’s ceaselessly inventive direction we are really drawn into this macabre and beautiful world. A relatively simple set and ingenious use of a floor cloth means a myriad of environments appear before our eyes. There’s a certain amount of audience participation, but for the most part it is the tightness and bravery of both script and production that carry the day.

As one wanders around The Fringe and overhears conversations about agents and casting directors and London transfers it is refreshing to discover a company like this, doing amazing quality work on minimal resources just because that’s what they enjoy doing and, yes, entertaining all the family. The play’s message, of tolerance and acceptance and being proud of what you are is told with subtlety and bravery.

May this brief candle flicker for some time to come.

[Robin T. Barton]