Winterreise

Produced by Up In Arms Theatre

Tristan Bates Theatre, Tuesday 13th December 2011

The first of two vastly contrasting performances at the Tristan Bates Theatre on Tuesday was the Schubert song cycle Winterreise, performed in the original German by baritone and director Thomas Guthrie, accompanied on piano and guitar. Themes of depression, isolation, lost love and being really, really cold don’t necessarily make for an enticing evening of entertainment, but Up In Arms Theatre have taken this stark subject matter and created an enchanting and atmospheric staging which you can’t help but be charmed by.

First, an admission. My knowledge of Schubert’s back catalogue is limited to say the least, so this was my first foray into the chilly world of Winterreise. As it turned out, I couldn’t have wished for a better introduction to this bleak but captivating piece. Using a beautifully constructed puppet as narrator, the 24 songs charting the epic Winter journey of a desperate and heartbroken man were given a simple and accessible staging.  Translations were projected behind the performers for those of us who had forgotten most of their GCSE German, and the monochrome “silent movie” styling that they were given added to the already spine-tingling atmosphere.

In the intimate space of the Tristan Bates Theatre the stage was left otherwise bare save for the two musicians and vocalist and puppeteer Guthrie. Rising slowly from a heap of rags, the puppet itself had an incredibly expressive quality. This was particularly heightened by subtle lighting changes which transformed not only the expression on his face, but the texture of the skin to appear at times young and hopeful, and at others elderly and weather beaten. Having never been a huge fan of puppets, this was a revelation. Through skilful animation alongside the rich, soaring baritone of the operator, the effect was somehow more touchingly human than I can imagine any actor could have produced.

Enormous credit must go to David Owen Norris on the piano and Sam Cave on guitar. While I would have liked to hear more of the guitar throughout the piece, the few songs in which it was utilised gave gentle respite to the at times relentless gloom of the protagonist’s story. Using a magnificent piano, which we were informed prior to the performance was a relic from Schubert’s time, Norris produced an astonishing performance which was only heightened by the beautiful tinny tone of the instrument. As a trio, they were faultless.

The subject matter of Winterreise is never going to make for easy watching, yet the elegant simplicity of the staging made it both comprehensible and, dare I say it, enjoyable even for a novice such as myself. I can’t think of a better introduction to Schubert, and considering the inspired work on show here, I certainly look forward to seeing more of Up In Arms Theatre in the future.

Matt Fisher "I Have Something to Say"

Performed by Joz Norris

Tristan Bates Theatre, Tuesday 13th December 2011

It’s hard to believe that this one man show is the first live outing for self-proclaimed “internet phenomenon” Matt Fisher. Strutting onstage to cringe-inducing power rock and mis-timed powerpoint slides, the absurdity of this fantastically conceived creation seemed even better suited to the stage than screen. Standing before us in a shocking red shirt, tucked into what I can only assume were women’s jeggings, the intimate space of the Tristan Bates Theatre allowed the full, remarkable physicality of Joz Norris’s performance to take shape in this hugely exciting debut .

 Already creating buzz for himself on the stand up circuit, Norris is an astonishing character actor.  Matt Fisher is the sort of rare comic creation that is absurd yet believable, repulsive yet endearing, and performed with such commitment that the boundaries of what is real and what is performed become blurred. He is a larger than life, utterly deluded and always brilliantly, unintentionally funny. To liken him to other comedy figures would perhaps be a disservice to the invention that has gone into his making, but if you can imagine the bastard son of Howard Moon and David Brent, then make what you’re imagining ten times funnier, you’d be on the right track.

Despite leaving the stage to make a phone call, finishing the show before the much hyped piano recital to attend “an invitation to a booty call” and all the while exaggerating wildly about his own successes (“Don’t you know who I am? I’ve got a BA!”) the audience remain firmly on Matt’s side. Not least because, among the arrogance, the un-PC faux pas and the sometimes aggressive sexism, there are moments of genuine tragedy in the piece. I can’t have been the only audience member who got a lump in their throat watching him fail spectacularly with a woman of his own creation to the soundtrack of “Lady in Red”, during a one man demonstration of “nightclubbing”.  Along with snapshots of his unhappy childhood this made what could have been no more than an excellent parody into a rounded and affecting hour of entertainment. The complete lack of social awareness that Matt possesses became both believable and loveable when we realised that his two best friends only begrudgingly entertain his notions of celebrity, and even the women in his own head turn him down in disgust.

Finishing the evening with an emotional ukulele ballad about a past girlfriend who dumped him over MSN Messenger, we leave Matt with a glimmer of genuine hope in his otherwise fantastical world. Heading off optimistically to meet a woman, he concedes to using just one instrument in his finale (despite the £300 hire charge for the piano), in a subtle change of atmosphere from his entrance.  This made for an uplifting conclusion, brilliantly undercut with some DVD outtakes of his supposed “upcoming feature film”.

This was some of the most original and involving comedy that I’ve seen for some time. With the plethora of stand ups currently saturating the comedy market, it’s incredibly refreshing to see something different, daring and pulled off with exceptional skill and timing. I’m now eagerly awaiting what Matt Fisher does next, and with a debut show of this quality don’t be surprised if Joz Norris and his wonderfully executed alter ego become a prolific presence on the comedy scene next year.