Latitude Festival - Part 1

So the bruises have finally faded from my Latitude Experience (nothing to do with the theatre I saw and all to do with the mosh pit I found myself in during the Gossip gig at the Uncut Arena) and i'm ready to report back from Latitude 2009!

Three things you expect to see at a festival:

· People running around with face paints, fairy wings, tutus, and other mystical paraphernalia

· Bands a plenty playing into the night

· Rain!

Three things you don’t expect to see at a festival:

· An audience enthusiastically waving their arms in the air to Westlife

· A selection of theatre that rivals the West End

· Sunshine!

The brilliant thing about Latitude 2009 is that it had all of the above; everything you’d expect and everything you’d never expect. Treading new ground in the world of festivals Latitude 2009 is so much more than a music festival with the token arts tent throw in. It caters for a whole other audience without sacrificing its music loving fan base. At Latitude there is room for everyone, music, theatre, comedy, cabaret, film, literature, poetry and that doesn’t even take into account the one off installation pieces that are happening in every corner. By creating such an eclectic vibe, Latitude draws a diverse crowd and by keeping all acts in fairly close proximity of one another there is a real feeling of intimacy that other festivals can lack.

Focusing in on the theatre there were two main spaces; the theatre arena (a sort of circus tent) and the outdoor theatre, located in the woods. Throughout the four days, many productions were repeated so as if you missed something one day, you had the opportunity to catch it on another. Theatre companies from all over the country took their turns on the two stages with the majority of performances playing to a full house, with the audience spilling outside.

A variety of pieces that had been especially created for Latitude were combined with pieces that are on their way up to Edinburgh and also a sample of what’s going on in the West End right now. Whilst the majority of pieces clearly had a festival crowd in mind a handful were oblivious to the audience they were playing to. Mercury Theatre for some reason opted to perform without the head microphones that all the other companies used. Playing against the blaring music that was coming from nearby venues and with the sound of people walking in and out, you could barely hear them.

It was the productions which involved some sort of audience participation which were, not surprisingly, the biggest hits. Dry white with their rather simple formula of creating various scenarios which resulted in the characters having physical fights was received with a rowdy response. Wearing coloured hats that we had been issued with to represent what character we thought would win each fight, we cheered and goaded as if at a WWF match. Hugh Hughes in his one man show 360 insisted we all chat to each and become acquainted in order to breakdown any barriers, whilst the Bush theatre’s Sudden Loss of Dignity read out embarrassing stories which had been submitted by members of the audience.

My top picks for the weekend have to be the afore mentioned Sudden Loss of Dignity which was met with a standing ovation and the RSC’s terrifying production of Here Lies Mary Spindler which was especially created for Latitude. The performance about the witch trials and subsequent burial site which just happens to be the Latitude site scared the living daylights out of me. Blood coming out of characters mouths and blood curdling screams pretty much guaranteed that there was no way I’d be going to the toilets on my own in the middle of the night!

So that was Latitude 2009, a sort of tea party/circus/rock concert/cultural/weird and wonderful event. Of course the only real way to discover the joy of Latitude is to go yourself, so who’s in for next year?!

360
Written by Hugh Hughes
Produced by touring theatre company Hoipolloi
Presented by Pleasance

The Pleasance prides itself on providing an early home for the best on the theatre and comedy circuit, in both Edinburgh and London. This year, the Pleasance returned to Latitude with four ‘Picks’ of comedy treats. One of which was Hugh Hughes with his brand new show 360. For anyone who has seen any of Hugh Hughes’ previous work they’ll know to expect organised chaos as his story telling technique goes off on random tangents which always find their way back to the heart of the story. That is not to say that Hughes doesn’t really know what he’s doing; he knows exactly what he’s doing, he just enjoys breaking down those performer/audience barriers in order to make the audience feel as comfortable as possible; as if we are all friends.

And that is the theme of 360; friendship, in particular Hughes’ relationship with his childhood friend Gareth. Taking us on a trip down memory lane he reminisced about funny moments they shared as young boys back in Wales, spending their Summer holidays together building Dams. He talked about how that friendship altered as they grew up as Hughes moved to London while Gareth stayed in Wales but how ultimately no matter what the change in circumstances the bond between two old friends is a difficult one to break.

Of course, as I have said already his story telling is not straight forward. Having told the children that were in the audience that the worst thing he was going to say was “Fucking Shit” and that if their parents were ok with that then they could stay, he began, in fact he even used one of the children to join him on stage to play Gareth in one of their Dam building adventures. As he frantically told the audience about one particular occasion when he and Gareth, as adults, climbed mount Snowdon he explained how their friendship was threatened due to the fact he was having, what he refers to as “ a Jack Johnson moment” (Jack Johnson being some moody idiot he worked with in London who would always make him feel stupid and therefore send him into a bad mood). Hughes’ simple tale reminds you how old friends help you deal with such moments and allow you to see the funny side of any situation.

Always nice to have a piece of theatre with a good old moral, although to be honest the chance of having “a Jack Johnson moment” at Latitude is pretty slim, especially with shows such as 360 taking to the stage.

When Cheryl Was Brasic by Leo Richardson
Crunch by Duncan McMillan
Produced by Nabokov Shorts

Nabokov aims to produce theatre which offers an antagonistic response to contemporary agendas and trends. Their monthly development forum showcases young playwrights, directors, and comedians etc to test and develop their work in front of an audience.

When Cheryl Was Brasic by Leo Richardson and Crunch by Duncan McMillan are such examples of work emerging from this initiative and what better place to get a true response than at a festival where the audience are free to get up and leave whenever they want.

With so much on offer at Latitude, if you’re not enjoying something you just leave and with some productions over the weekend that is exactly what people did. Nabokov Shorts however captured its audience’s attention with people crammed into every corner of the tent.

Both Richardson and McMillan’s short plays shared the theme of money; or rather lack of it, but each tackled the subject matter in a very different way. Richardson’s protagonist, Cheryl is sick of being broke and so takes the advice of her sex mad, role play loving, lesbian best friend Shenekwa – to focus on entertainment that’s free and doesn’t require you to leave the house. Cheryl sets about trying to spice up her nonexistent sex life with her Wi-Fi loving boyfriend, Dean. Dean is completely oblivious to poor Cheryl’s hilarious attempts to get him into bed such as covering herself in Nutella in the hope he will want to lick it off and telling Dean that a wasp has flown up his trousers in order to convince him to take them off. Her failed attempts are intercut with Shenekwa’s various role play fantasies with her girlfriend such as posh bird and robber and gangster and moll.

Very funny at times, Richardson’s light hearted take on money problems contrasts nicely with McMillan’s rant at consumerism. A couple verbally attack each other whilst teaching their child about third world debt, genocide, capitalism and massacres; all the things every child needs to know. Dealing with some pretty heavy issues, McMillan’s script certainly shocked you out of your comfort zone but it did become rather relentless and in fact almost watered down the seriousness of these problems by becoming a constant stream of consciousness rather than anything more poignant.

Both promising young playwright’s with very different styles if the rest of the theatre going public receive their work as well as those at Latitude, I’m sure they’ll do very well.

Traces
Directed by Tessa Walker
Produced by Paines Plough

Paines Plough is undoubtedly one of our most promising theatre companies with hits such as House of Agnes under its belt and writers such as Mark Ravenhill and Enda Walsh working with them they have already accumulated quite a following.

As with other theatre groups at latitude, Paines Plough are very supportive of up and coming talent. With their initiative “Future Perfect 2009”, six young writers came together to write Traces which was performed by members of National Youth Theatre.

There is always something so fresh and vibrant about work that emerges from young talent, even if it doesn’t quite work you can’t deny the energy that comes from a piece created and performed by people yet to be jaded by life.

Traces is most certainly a play by teenagers for teenagers with all loose ends neatly tied up and the odd group movement piece and rap thrown in along the way for good measure. A fairly simplistic plot about a famous girl, Leanne Turner (We’re not sure what she is famous for) who returns to her home town, wanting to reconnect, having lost touch with reality. Fame has bought her nothing but misery, however as she encounters various old friends and co-workers from her past she realises that it’s not that easy to go back and ultimately comes to the conclusion that there is nowhere that she can be happy in this life time.

Traces lacked the spark of pervious pieces performed by NYT members such as the electric White Boy. This sadly felt like an amateur production, especially as half the young cast are still to learn that when you’re off stage and your head microphones are on, even whispers can still be heard by the audience.