This is one of those theatre experiences that requires the audience to make an effort. Turning up for this site-specific show which is played out over two floor of an old motorcycle showroom could disappoint you if you don’t make the effort.
There are some traditional elements to this ¬promenade piece inspired by a true-life murder that took place in Bristol in 1836, leading to the closure of the 600-year-old St James’s Fair, drawing cleverly on the 19th-century love of melodrama to tell a tale of obsession, betrayal and murder. But it’s a clever mix, too, of signs, symbols and sideshows, and the audience has to put in some work to connect the webs of deceit as the ¬marriage of showman and actor Charles Bartlett and his pregnant wife, Emily, comes ¬under strain as Charles turns his ¬attentions to Rosie.
The marvelous thing about this show is that it feels embedded in its surroundings and draws on the work of local artists. There are shadow puppet sideshows, icy trees dangling tarot cards and foetuses, opportunities for the audience to audition to be Charles’s new leading lady, and wandering tricksters.
It may not be completely memorable, and it can feel undertextured and overcrowded, but this is ambitious and imaginative work that only requires more depth and consistency to make it soar. The best bits – including a wonderful, fragile sideshow scene in which a man voices a litany of regret as Rosie packs her case to leave – are genuinely thrilling.
