Why is it that whenever I go to the theatre with non-theatre friends/family, the show isn’t that great and I feel the need to apologise or spend ages saying “you should’ve seen x” or “that was like a shit version of y”, and I’m always on my own when I see THE BESTEST MOST AMAZINGEST MIND-BLOWINGEST STUFF? I saw 1927’s The Animals And Children Took To The Streets, and I really really wish I’d been able to share it with someone new to the theatre. It was the kind of show that could really inspire people to SEE MORE STUFF.
Just look at the picture I’ve chosen here. That’s not a camera effect. That’s a woman stood in front of an animation. The whole thing was a macabre tale of the run-down Bayou Mansions and its sedated children (the best sort) told using Kurt Weill-style music hall cabaret songs, creepy voiceovers and entirely animated characters. I wanted to watch it all over again as soon as it was over. It was absolutely mesmerising, and hilarious, and gently hinted at Bayou Mansions as an allegory for the economic future of Britain, the people who will be left behind by the cuts. Maybe that’s not what 1927 intended, but it certainly works. If it wasn’t sold out I’d buy tickets to at least another 2 performances. And I’d bring people with me. It would do them good.
