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It took me by surprise to see the electricity and poeticism that came from the actors of the Factory. Normally one would praise the genius of the writer, who has spent months drafting and redrafting, moving a comma or joke to get it just so. But when I watched the Factory’s performance of Anton Chekov’s The Seagull, the only ones to praise was the prowess of the cast. 

I must make clear though, as did Alex Hassell, the co-founder of the Factory, that the performance can fall on its face at times. And you can see if the actors are not focused it could feel more like a piss-take than a masterpiece. 

The Kneehigh/Punch Drunk-esque theatre company, come from a breed of deliciously creatively didactic projects that are rejecting that normalized and commercial side of theatre. This is not West-End baby - this is something totally original. In some ways it goes back to the Elizabethan style of theatre, where famously Shakespeare would be still finishing the script just hours before curtain-up and the actors would have to use their imagination to carry the piece through.  

On the Sunday evening performance though, the director Tim Carroll had stuck surprisingly close to the plot. I for one have to admit that I had not read The Seagull prior to the show, but scanning over the story now it seems to have been beautifully shaped by the actors.

Stoke Newington International Airport hosted the night, and the space with its ad-hock décor and large creaky door seemed the ideal setting for this organic creative experiment. The actors moved around the space, played in, on and around the audience, at times even asking the audience if they agreed with what the other characters where doing!

The play started with a Chekov line, ‘Why is it that you always wear black?’ This being one of the only recycled lines from the original play. 

It is the premise to this production, that each line should be original, new to be repeated within the next performance. The actors are even scorned by Alex Hassell, who alongside Tim Evans set about their valiant experiment in 2006 after feeling disheartened with the controlling grip of the non-creative corporate element involved in theatre these days.

They started with a production of Hamlet that they have taken globally, from New York to Budapest, with cameo appearances from high-profile actors.

But the news passes from ear to ear, the Factory is not big on the promotional thing. And it makes it all the more special, to feel like you have been chosen by them to be involved in their night. So this is a secret, tell everyone you love, they will love you for it. 

More here.

Aquila Dunford Wood