**Perseus and Andromeda**

A family friendly adaptation of the mythical tale by **Quill & Inkling Theatre Company**, at St Michael’s Church, Longstanton.

Back to lovely Longstanton near Cambridge, and the gorgeous setting of St Michael’s Church for some more lovely theatre from Quill & Inkling Theatre Company’s summer tour, this year the epic tale of Perseus and Andromeda.

As with last year at this same venue for Beowulf, we have been moved inside again for this performance, meaning we are treated to the fitting, but very uncomfortable pew seating for this show. I did bring a cushion with me in preparation, but alas, it was still not completely remedial.

That’s by the by though, as we are greeted very warmly by the cast members of this production. As ever with Quill and Inkling, the show begins as soon as you arrive, with lovely and wholesome interactions from the performers - not fully in character yet, but with a suitably welcoming charm from all three. When it is time for the show to begin, we are given a very friendly “helpful introduction” speech which sets the tone marvelously, indicating that the audience will be participating - not quite as a full Greek chorus - but opportunities will follow for cheers, gasps, laughs and tears; and also encouraging people to take as many photos as they wish during the show (always a winner for me, an avid photographer.)

*The gods in masks - Zeus, Athena and Hera*

And then we’re off, with the first introduction to the wonderful mask work, we meet the gods of this tale who set the stage for the whole show. Naturally, with a tale such as this there is a lot of setup, and it is very wordy - these opening scenes are pretty hefty going. I found myself glad that my boys had chosen not to accompany me this time as even I was finding myself having to really focus on the details. It is however very nicely performed and well told by the company, so although it is the slow and requisite placing of all the pieces (figuratively and literally) it soon gets underway properly.

There are some really lovely moments of theatre magic weaved throughout this show, from simple and elegant costume changes and carefully chosen props, through to the delight of seeing a statue come to life when used as the voice of a god - having had to more tightly pack and subsequently rework the inventive staging pieces doesn’t phase them here. There are even a few times the front cloth of the set is raised to help hide a transition or enhance the effect of a transformation, this is definitely a well considered design and build which serves the story beautifully.

I do think there are some slight aspects which could have had a touch more love and input - the basic lighting of floodlamps serves well enough as replacement for the warm wash of daylight as it fades away for act two, but relying on just these feels a bit flat at times. SFX of storms and rain could have had some accompanying flashes, for example, and being able to affect a change of state for the deep caverns of the grey eyes would have been handy too - not that they necessarily suffered without it, I should clarify though. I realise that this is a very venue-specific issue, as for the most part this show will have been performed outdoors - still, perhaps it’s just the lighting nerd in me, but I found myself wanting a bit of extra colour or contrast in a few places.

There was also a moment where a pre-recorded set of lines somehow looped itself and began repeating what had already been said - the cast played it off brilliantly however, with improvised quips making it seem like it was done deliberately. The other scenes involving pre-recorded dialogue - adding to the number of characters in a scene - were handled really wonderfully, particularly in the aforementioned grey-eye scene, where two of the cast were playing the three crones (invoked wonderfully with simple and very effective head on hand puppets) and the third playing alongside. Actually rather than continuing to anonymise them, let’s take a moment to recognise the efforts of this sterling cast.

Sam Dart - as Perseus, Hera, Cassiopeia and others - is magnetic. She plays everything with fantastic energy, channeling some excellent vocal and physical changes for each character she plays, and with magnificent facial expressions throughout. I mean it as a high compliment when I say that I had frequent reminders of the mannerisms of Will Poulter - Sam’s performance stole every scene for me, between humbly heroic Perseus, stern and sassy Hera and of course the arrogant and vain Cassiopeia, she brings them all to life with charm and depth.

Eloise Trett - as Andromeda, Athena and Danae - is also brilliant, she gets the lion’s share of puppetry in this show, given the task of bringing the fearsome Medusa to life, which she does spectacularly - every movement is keenly observed and her face goes to an appropriately mischievous and menacing place alongside. She also gets to show her range amongst characters too, from the gently proud mother of Perseus putting up with the claims she is mad, to the meek (to begin with) Andromeda who finds her courage while tied to a rock, she handles these character changes with ease. For me she perhaps could do with being slightly bolder or more enunciated in a few places, but her deft versatility more than makes up for this.

Callum Atkins - as Zeus, Polydectes and Phineas - gets to bring most of the comedy to this show, flitting as he does between the bold and mighty Zeus - played with the right amount of amusing “pick me” energy and cockiness, the mildly lecherous and devious Polydectes who is fittingly slimy, and the mostly-useless Phineas strutting around with the air of importance but none of the substance. He gets some great moments of slapstick too, tripping over the set in such a way that a lot of the audience believed he genuinely tripped, it’s only when he repeats it later that they realise. Even when he did accidentally knock over one of the pews he seamlessly quipped about it in character, which was lovely. Before the show Callum told me that he works a lot in comedy - it definitely pays off with what he is able to bring to this show as a result.

*Phineas “leading” the charge, with the statue puppet below him*

All three should also be highly commended for their mask work, which can often be tricky for performers with the loss of most of the powers of expression in their faces; but here they play up to it very well. The masks themselves are gorgeously crafted too, and work really well to give the air of godliness to the gods who wear them. The puppets too are brilliant, as we should expect from this company - Medusa is a writhing mass of stringy snakes, and a full body coil on a harness. The gargantuan sea monster Cetus is invoked with a giant head rising above the back flat of the stage, and two large tentacles which flop about - turning what could have been quite a terrifying encounter into another opportunity for humour well taken. The statue puppet is also wonderful, that magical moment of it coming to life, even in such a simple mechanism, was a lovely surprise. The previously mentioned Grey-Eye heads are brilliantly realised, and even the incidental animals that appear very briefly are lovely additions too. Producer Beth Moreno Rivera, who designs and creates all of these puppets is worthy of high praise for their inventiveness and charm.

Writer/Director Ivan Wilkinson is clearly having a great time with this material, as he ever does - handling the complex interplay of stories of these fantastical myths and legends with charm and wit. The fourth wall break from one of the gods along the lines of “that will take a very long time, lets skip ahead a bit” preceding a joyfully anarchic travel montage, and some cheeky nods back after - is archetypal of his work. Those who know Ivan will certainly recognise his masterful mischief at play. Yet again he turns a story such as this into truly inclusive and welcoming theatre fit for families - it’s easy to imagine that younger ones will certainly find themselves inspired to delve further into these grand tales as a result of this piece. There are a couple of moments where the show even tends in quite a pronounced direction towards pantomime, further serving to welcome everyone into the story in a really wholesome way.

I do think despite the introduction promising opportunities for hearty reactions, they are a bit sparse here - perhaps it was just a hesitant crowd - but I found myself wanting a ramping up of the emotions a few times. Similarly, I would have loved to see some more comedy woven in, particularly in those early setup scenes. The laughs we do get are great, though. The interactive sections were deftly handled too - with the audience called upon to help solve a riddle and then later to move a bit of the set.

The cast in “victory pose” after the show

Overall, there’s definitely a lot to love here. This is passionately presented theatre with real charm and heart. The cast are clearly having a great time with this tour, and it definitely shines through with the care and attention they put into every aspect of the performance. The enthusiastic applause of the whole audience at the end of the show was magnificently well-earned.

🐍🐍🐍🐍 / 5

Perseus & Andromeda is now in its final leg of the summer tour, heading to Somerset and Cornwall for the last few performances this week. Find out more about it, and the company overall, at https://www.quillandinkling.com/perseus-andromeda

More of my photos below - click for full size.