THE Rude Mechanicals, that endlessly inventive commedia dell’arte touring company, first performed Pete Talbot’s play Gentle Harry’s Farm in 2011, and now the story of a green and pleasant England in the 1950s is on the road again.
Performing in the open air is always a gamble, and one that didn’t quite pay off at the Square and Compass in Worth Matravers on Friday, when the weather gods decided on rain, lightning and thunder as their contribution to the evening and the performance had to be abandoned. In a better mood, they provided balmy breezes on Saturday for the Abbotsbury audience sitting in the Abbey House grounds near the tithe barn and in the lee of the hill.
It’s the perfect backdrop for this story of summer on the farm, which starts as neighbours Agnes and Minnie return home for the holidays from their school for very brave girls, all ready for adventure, romance and muffins and lemonade. The story nods to Angela Brazil and her ilk, but has a few thought-provoking ideas too. Beloved pig Elsie (heartwrenchingly portrayed by Artie Gooden) is off to the abattoir, known euphemistically by the other animals as Primrose Fields … it sounded more like a new edge-of-town housing development.
The plucky pair (Madeline Hatt and Evie James) are all ready to delve into secret diaries, fall in love, foil a dangerous pair of wobbers and see through Ernest, the local, and dashing, binder (say it out loud), played by director, composer and multi-talented musician Rowan Talbot.
All the time the magpies, with their colourful plumage and extraordinarily birdlike sounds and movements, are wheeling around, gathering shiny snippets to line their nests.
This is a long show, but it all comes brilliantly together, and the Rudes, known for their whiteface clowning and original stories, have never been better. Between the six of them they bring 27 vivid characters to life, from the haughty, miserable and knowing Harris Tottle the ram (Matthew Nicholson), to the irrepressible Gus the dog, convincingly barked by Holly Cassidy. Rowan Talbot is both Gentle Harry the farmer and entitled baddie Ernest.
Once again, the Rude summer show is a treat, and well worth risking showers to see.
The tour continues until 10th August, back in Dorset on 3rd,4th and 25th July, and in Somerset on 24th and 26th. Visit the website for details … and don’t miss it.
GP-W