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SCAMP
The Mission Theatre
Bath
Saturday 14th October 2017
I am a musical theatre fan: I have a pretty catholic taste for everything from Disney to Sondheim; big, camp and ballsy or neat, tidy and sweet, but when it comes to a small, challenging, dark and dangerous, ‘Off Broadway’ show I am in La La Land.
I spoke some months ago with Keith Warhurst, one of SCAMPS’ founders about his hopes of securing the English amateur debut for Murder Ballad. Keith and his wife Sally are at the centre of SCAMP and have an infectious love for the ‘off Broadway’ genre – they do not seem to be interested in the sphere of the ‘big shiny show’ but would rather find a piece they love, deliver it as well as possible and if anyone happens to come and watch then ‘all well and good’. Having seen their fantastic Songs for a New World last year I started to understand what they mean, and to want to see more.
Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash’s 2012 musical Murder Ballad tells the story of a youngNew Yorker, Sara. She enjoys a very physical relationship with Tom, who lives on the ‘edge’ as a bartender. Sara eventually breaks up with Tom for the more staid Michael, a poetry student. Michael makes changes to his own path, embarks on an MBA and he and Sara marry and raise a daughter. Eventually the ‘normal’ life palls for Sara and she embarks on a passionate affair with Tom. Michael becomes aware and the predictable fireworks ensue. All in all a fairly average, triangular love story. However there are twists plus the telling of the story through a Narrator who features within the story and the music add up to something a little different.
Having investigated Murder Ballad, I fell for the music and the dark sultriness of the story so it was with a sense of excitement and nervousness that I went to the Mission Theatre with my wife, to watch the show: Would SCAMP live up to the hype? The Mission was built in 1796 as a Congregational hall and has an age and mystery, which suited the production to a ‘tee’. The hall was set up with audience to left and right of the acting area, a large double bed on a plinth at one end, an impressive bar at the other, the front of which was emblazoned with single large heart, diamond, clubs and spades figures in fretwork, behind which sat a rock band. I was impressed by the small detail of the background music playing as we all filed into the hall: a selection of carefully chosen murder ballads from Dylan to Tom Jones – great stuff!
Our first exposure to the performers was in the shape of The Narrator, Sally Warhurst in fine form. Sally looked spectacular in long wig (or possibly extensions, this bald bloke is no expert) and denim shorts over fishnets. Her singing performance matched: moving effortlessly between belting rock and tender softness. Her role as Narrator was cleverly pitched; knowing, streetwise and funny moving gradually to become manipulative and dangerous. We quickly met the other protagonists: Sara played by Jenny Abson, Tom played by Tom Stentaford and Michael played by Andrew English. All performances were very strong indeed. Jenny gave us Sara’s journey through the excitement of a passionate relationship with the boy/man, Tom to the more stable nuclear family of her relationship with Michael and full circle back to Tom. She captured Sara’s innate dissatisfaction with her ‘lot’ and the emotional roller coaster that her restlessness engendered with great believability and range. Tom Stentaford’s Tom was convincing too: his passion and huge infatuation with Sara combined with the brooding loneliness of his life when she left him were palpable. His physicality and presence, particularly when confronting Sara and Michael in the park were remarkable. Andrew’s Michael was another piece of perfect casting: the gentle poetry scholar turned MBA graduate, father and loving husband of a troubled wife, blind to Sara’s infidelity and dissatisfaction until it is shoved in his face was expertly handled.
The show was directed collectively by the cast through workshopping and development in rehearsal which, having seen how tightly organised the movement and details were, surprised me. There were many pleasing touches – not least the layout of the audience- almost as a jury but also including Sally’s playing of patience with cards on the bar when she was not directly featured, the changing of Jenny’s footwear to signify her change of focus – sexy leather boots or soft suede numbers etc. It was however the intensity of the link between characters that was most striking – the linking of eyelines even at considerable distances apart was astonishingly effective. No one was ever ‘switched off’ – exhausting for the players but exhilarating for the audience.
Musically the show, for me at least, knowing the songs well, was very strong. Singing was of the highest order both individually, in duet and in ensemble. The band was tight and well organised under Keith’s MDship. Sound was occasionally a little disappointing particularly in the rockier numbers where clarity was poor and we lost some of the words – a shame but not enough to spoil the show.
You can probably gather from the above that I loved the production. Not, perhaps, everyone’s cup of English Breakfast but if you want to see originality, excellence and something just a little different do not miss anything SCAMP deliver in the future.
Thanks for inviting me