☆★★★★
Canary
Watching Fun
in the Oven’s production of Canary at the Vaults' Festival, it soon became apparent
that this was not any regular performance. But a unique realisation of a fascinating,
forgotten, and sadly ignored chronicle.
This was the
story of women who worked in the munitions factories during World War One. Not unsurprisingly,
with the men away at war, it was down to a largely forgotten collection of
women left behind to do the unsavoury and seriously dangerous job of
manufacturing the munitions - doing their bit for the war effort.
Set in a stylish
black box set, designed by Posy Jowett, cleverly dressed with simple props and punctuated
with film clips, we are introduced to Agnes, Anne and Betty, Britain's unsung
war heroines -The Canary Girls.
Performed
and created by Robyn Hambrook, Alys North and Katie Tranter we soon become
aware that we are not in the midst of any regular piece of theatre but a
multi-layered drama featuring mime, dance, music, physical theatre. And even
the soundscape drives and enhances the compelling narrative. Many of these
diverse attributes must surely be determined and informed, not unsurprisingly,
by the wonderfully diverse disciplines inherent in these actors’ background.
Exploring
the monotony, danger, and camaraderie inherent in the factory, Hambrook, North
and Tranter also draw enormous humour from some dark set-ups. As they chewed
cordite - a smokeless explosive made from nitrocellulose, nitroglycerine, and
petroleum jelly, used in ammunition – during an air raid, we share the
detrimental effects of their ‘euphoric emancipation, forbidden friendship and
anarchic dreams’.
Canary is a
fascinating, smart and unusual piece of theatre, enhanced by clever and
inventive performances from an ensemble happy to push the boundaries of traditional
drama.
Canary
played at the Network Theatre during the Vaults' Festival 2020.
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