Skip to main content

Flash Festival 2017: The Powers That Be by Tangled Spines Theatre Company at St Peter's Church, Northampton

Perhaps of all the Flash Festival shows this year, Tangled Spines' The Powers That Be was the one that I was most looking forward to seeing. I had read Luke Rhinehart's intriguing novel The Dice Man (on which this is based) some years ago and while the main plot had long departed my mind, the truly fascinating premise that permeates the story is genuinely very clever. Our protagonist lives life by the throw of a die where his every action is decided by the number that the dice scattered at his feet portray.

Steven Croydon
A quick google of The Dice Man offers a rather bizarre fact that for some reason this story and idea hasn't been developed to any great degree over the years with just one minor mini-series and a couple of plays taking on the idea, therefore Tangled Spines are very much onto something and their nippy and clever performance brings to life the story to fascinating effect and doesn't hold back on the controversy and power of the original novel either.

After a quite brilliant repeated, but slowly altering physical routine, we are immediately presented with our lead Luke Rhinehart (Steven Croydon) throwing a die to decide if he rapes his mistress (Jen Wyndham). We do not see, but quickly learn that the answer is yes and he matter of factly presents this information to her and in this world that this story lives within, it is accepted by her.
Jen Wyndham

I love the fact that this play doesn't shy away at all from this power and repulsiveness of the original. When I read it originally I felt that although it told obviously a very different story, its morals were very much like that of A Clockwork Orange. This is crime and evilness often of the highest order, but you can't help but for the duration almost be on the depraves side.

Jack James
Steven Croydon given the meaty lead character also offers the best of the performances, however, that doesn't detract from the others. Jack James is excellent as a close colleague, while even better as Rhinehart's son, again showing skill at creating both a believable but never silly youngster seen successfully more than a few times at Flash.

Jen Wyndham is once again her captivating best as both woman in Rhinehart's life, the aforementioned mistress and his wife (it is worth noting that beyond this performance, a pair of crutches were her "friend" and this demanding performance truly showed her dedication to her chosen profession).

I truly loved The Powers That Be for bringing that wonderful novel to life in physical form. Tremendously well chosen, brilliantly created within both the altar space and within a neat and sensible running time. Thank you Tangled Spines for reintroducing me to Rhineharts religion of the die.

Performance viewed: Thursday, 25th May 2017

The Flash Festival 2017 ran between Monday 22nd and Saturday 27th May 2017 at three venues across the town.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Review of The Wizard Of Oz by the Northampton Musical Theatre Company at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The last couple of shows from the award-winning Northampton Musical Theatre Company has been a slightly mixed bag, with their last show at Derngate the rather difficult to get a grip on thrills of Grease , a woefully inferior stage version of the classic film despite being very well performed. Their best show recently was ironically Summer Holiday , hidden at the much smaller Cripps venue. Therefore still in the wake of the exceptional Sister Act , does The Wizard of Oz create the Derngate magic once again? The answer for me, is both yes and no, it is as always an exceptional production filled from top to tail with talent, as NMTC is so renowned for, and packing the audience in and thrilling them like perhaps nothing like Oz can in the musical department, you cannot question its selection really. However, like Grease , and to readjust a requote, "it's just Oz". This time I use it in the way that Oz is just a little over-familiar, I am desperate for the buzz that I go...
Read more

Review of Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The Rambert Dance Company is the oldest such company in Britain having first performed in 1926. However, despite this, this was my first encounter with the group in my ten years of theatre-going. Coupled with this, it was also my first encounter with Peaky Blinders , having never seen the show, and only knowing a few vague things about it. My companion for the evening however was very familiar with the show, allowing some background behind the show. It turns out though,  Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby needs a little more than a good bit of knowledge of the show, as despite this production having incredible style, there struggles to be a cohesive structure to the show and the storytelling. Much more than other dance shows as well. The first act does a whistle-stop tour of the first five seasons and while it is a feast on the eye, and on the ear, it gets extremely confusing at times. The second act is freestyle and drifts away from the stories tol...
Read more

Review of Mamma Mia! at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Ahead of my trip to see Mamma Mia! in Northampton, I had enough conversations about the show to discover that there appears to be no in-between with people over their love or hate of the work of ABBA (music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus). For your information, patient reader, I fall firmly in the love department and an audience member of Mamma Mia! like myself is always going to ride on a tidal wave of joy as this jukebox churns out an incredible selection of their numbers (and truly reveals a substantially great back catalogue, that even a hater could not deny), however, is the show they are weaved around actually any good? The answer is mostly, yes. It is though, a typical popcorn musical where you are just required to switch your brain off for two hours or so and ride that tidal wave to Kalokairi, and observe the bright colours and frivolous nature of the plot. The plot, such as it is, involves 20-year-old Sophie, who is heading towards marria...
Read more