William and Octavia
Venue: Drama Barn
****
As a fresher, unaware of York’s theatrical tradition, I was oblivious to what this performance would offer. Upon entering the Drama Barn, I was experiencing an entirely new theatrical experience, of which I had no preconceptions.
For my fellow freshers, equally unaware of York’s student theatre , when I say a barn; I mean a barn. The play unfolded before a barren backdrop: stone washed walls, straw scattered turf, an uncanny smell of damp. But the sumptuous mysticism of the characters’ adventures, and the enchanting ability of the actors to transform from props to lovers in an instant, stamped on this austerity.
The headlong pace of the action, from energetic comedy to heightened tragedy, almost reminded me of that Luhrmann-esque maritime quality, seen in the campness of Moulin Rouge and the modernity of Romeo and Juliet: a post-modernist fairytale that is entirely unbelievable but simultaneously poignant.
Certainly, interactive theatre is not for everyone, although I have been informed that William and Octavia is one of BeltUp’s least interactive plays. However, it does provide one of the most memorable forms of entertainment.
Intersperses of love and comedy, war and death, additionally accentuated the captivating element of eccentricity. A fantasy, a fairytale – and we even got free biscuits.
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