#hallforcornwall

In the midst of graduating this week, and preparing for a new job this coming Monday , I started my first night of steward volunteering at the Hall for Cornwall.

This , along with my post as cultural tourism intern at ‘Cornwall 365′ has meant that I can work professionally in the arts and cutural industry, and manage to keep my ideas and inspirations flowing whilst catching glimpses of shows at the theatre.

Admittedly being the youngest of the group of volunteer stewards and also a newbie did have me remeniscent of my days taking part in local amdram groups, mostly because of the number of matriarchal figures babbling about the various shows they had seen that month. I hate to admit it , but I do see some of my future self in them;the theatre-going luvvie past the days when they could partake in a rigourous production themselves. I do however, have repect for them to still ‘keep a hand in ‘ into an environment that is ever changing.

The show itself , ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne Du Maurier, was adapted and directed by Kneehigh’s Emma Rice. There has been a lot of hype surrounding this production , and for me a lot of expection. My previous encounters of Kneehigh productions have been somewhat mixed, ‘Waa Waa Girls’ (2012) being one of my least favourite of their repetoire. In spite of colourful sets and promising musical numbers , the show itself felt a bit lacking in substance. It just felt to me like I’d been handed a cup of tepid tea, looked great but tasted a bit bland.

Back to ‘Rebecca’ , my initial impressions where met with some ambiguity , the set design was as I imagined , Very Kneehigh. The adaptation of the text to paint a picture of Manderley house , blended well with its more abstract representation. The set included part of a ship within the house and used b the performers when in Manderley, This for me was a disturbing and haunting feature which added to the overall impression of the play.

The aethetics and use of song and physical theatre allowed for a reoccuring theme of Cornwall and the sea to be present in the piece without feeling overbearing.These themes often have otential to look shoe-horned into the aethetics , but for the most part I forgot about these as the piece went on.

I am slightly more reluctant to watch more scripted ,commerical shows rather than small scale devised works , however ‘Rebecca’ served to remind me that scripted can be done well if you are willing to be brave and match the original with abstract additions.