Simon Holton
As someone accustomed to performing as part of a tight-knit ensemble, there is something distinctly terrifying about performing alone. No-one there to cover for you if you make a mistake, no-one to pick you up if your energy drops, and no-one to bounce off apart from that amorphous, unpredictable, often impassive creature: the audience. This week an entire festival devoted to just that was kicked off by three solo performances: Be Britain What She Will, The Caged Bird Sings and Our Friends the Enemy, written and performed by Raymi Renee, Jamie Zubairi and Alex Gwyther respectively. The début night of the Face to Face Festival of Solo Theatre, presented by The Lost Theatre and Colin Watkeys, beautifully illustrates the diversity and power of this form of theatre.
In the first, Be Britain What She Will, Renee expertly confounds the expectations of the bare stage by entering through a side door, dressed casually, dragging a bag of litter. This inauspicious beginning sets him up perfectly for the topic of his piece, the trials and tribulations faced by a Bolivian immigrant in modern Britain. He throws himself into his role with gusto, staring out into the audience with intense, frightened eyes, creating much humour and gentle satire. He makes great use of language, incorporating wordplay and the non-standard usage of someone speaking English as a second language, making it both fluent and gratifyingly strange.
The second piece, The Caged Bird Sings by Jamie Zubairi, explores gender, sexuality and national identity in an informed and inspirational way. Zubairi moves dynamically between events, backed up by a strong narrative voice. He shifts fluidly between characters, distinguished clearly through physicality and voice control. Particularly impressive is his transition to Maya Angelou at the end, with the help of a jumper and an uncanny impression of her iconic deep voice and dignity — strange as that might sound in combination with a man with a jumper tied around his head.
Alex Gwyther in Our Friends the Enemy, his retelling of the 1914 Christmas truce in the Second World War, brings a familiar story to life. From the perspective of Private James Boyce of the 1st Queen’s Regiment, his story is unpretentiously told, reminding us that even the most legendary true tales such as this were experienced by ordinary people. Gwyther incorporates believable detail and oscillates seamlessly between action and narrative. He, like the others, has a strong physical presence, so much so that I almost flinched when he pointed an imaginary rifle at the audience. His story is a well-structured and affecting glimpse into the past.
Solo theatre is a simple but effective way of exploring innumerable stories, themes and moods. The risk involved for the performer heightens the experience for the audience, and I suspect that this week will be an exciting one for The Lost Theatre.
The Face to Face Festival of Solo Theatre is playing at The Lost Theatre until 7 July 2013. For more information and to book tickets, visit the Solo Theatre Festival website.