Reviews

 

PICKS OF THE WEEK     If you’re only going to see one thing this week…

“Over the last few years BAC has not only put itself in the forefront of all that is young and exciting in theatre, but has also remembered that one of the purposes of theatre is to give people a good night out. Carl Heap’s production does just that, putting Morris dancing into Greek mythology, and smiles on the audiences faces besides.”

The Guardian

 

THEATRE CRITICS’ CHOICE ‘Jason and the Argonauts’

“Don’t miss out as Jason sets sail for the last time in a joyous celebration of the actors’ imagination and skills.”

Time Out

 

Jason finds jewels in a junk heap.

At a point when ultra-advanced computer graphics are bringing an Oscar-worthy vitality to JRR Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings, it is deeply cheering to see two fire-breathing bulls convincingly recreated with bits of bicycle, cigarettes and some empty paint-pots, and a famous ship built out of two upturned pub tables and a ladder. There is no sense that the audience is being imaginatively short-changed – on the contrary, as with all the best Christmas shows, it feels as if the crowd is whirled up into some great game where we’re all in the same theatrical joke together….this shows constant mixture of generosity and ingenuity is infectious….a fabulous idiosyncratic cast make it a colourful and vibrant retelling of the richly complex myth.”

Rachel Halliburton, Evening Standard.

 

“Heap’s whimsical linking of Greek myth and morris dancing is a provocative but lovely touch…..The constant shifting of scenery, emotional content, human form and dramatic pace has about it the giddy, pell-mell momentum of the RSC’s late great Nicholas Nickleby. Unreservedly recommended.”

Dan Cairns, Sunday Times

 

“A marvellous evening’s entertainment. The big set pieces are impressive examples of how much can be done with very little, and the mid-air battle held me more enthralled than I’ve been in a theatre for years. Disbelief absolutely suspended, the audience couldn’t help but draw in breath with every crashing blow.”

Warman, Daily Telegraph

 

“What’s great about the show – besides the intelligent, jokey script and the rough-and-ready inventiveness of the staging – is that it is totally involving in every way, from the storytelling to the audience participation…It gives the audience something very rare in traditional theatre: a sense of ownership of the show… this is a show of real wonder, with a delightful cast who spread a little happiness in their quest to claim the Golden Fleece.”

Lyn Gardner, Guardian

 

“… a show that keeps all the traditional pantomime values alive, yet brings the whole concept completely up to date.”

Paul Vale, The Stage

 

“One father, who looked as if he was hoping for a quiet snooze during the performance, found himself onstage taking the group’s photograph and subsequently perked up for the rest of the evening….a complete triumph; more than a jolly community show in that it encompasses a vast range of human emotions.”

Jane Edwardes, Time Out

 

“…the best Christmas show in town.”

Rhoda Koenig, The Independent

 

“If there is any justice, Battersea Arts Centre’s exercises in mock-heroics will become as essential a part of the Christmas scene as imaginatively staged fantasy at the Young Vic or larky panto at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East. Last year Carl Heap and Tom Morris managed to cram Ben Hur into their informal auditorium. This time they’ve done almost better…nicely poised between adventurous narrative and good-natured fun, well served by a rough theatre style that can transform an umbrella into a cormorant or a mix of trestle tables, step ladders and rope into the Argo itself…Myself, I enjoyed it right up to the celebratory ending.”

Benedict Nightingale, The Times

 

“This year a couple of picnic benches, a step ladder and a bit of ingenious pulley action are used to bring to life Jason’s epic journey to retrieve the Golden Fleece…Carl Heap’s vibrant production impressively balances the demands of a child’s imagination with an adult’s hunger for narrative. So the boisterous humour and audience engagement (children are invited to help row the Argo) accompany a story that takes in such notions as fate and the will of the gods, and the peculiarly profound emotion of the sirens, without compromising lucidity. Yet the real joy lies in the bold use of the unexpected: a woollen jumper for a sacrificial ram, for example.”

Claire Allfree, Metro

 

  • Directed by Carl Heap
  • Written by Carl Heap and Tom Morris
  • Theatre Battersea Arts Centre and national tour
  • Year 2003 - 2005