Theatre Absolute in UK's first empty shop theatre
In the past year I have seen theatre in car parks, in department stores, office blocks, redeveloped shipyards, in a cycle rickshaw and in a railway tunnel, but until tonight I had never seen a performance in an old chip shop.
Theatre Absolute took over a Coventry chippy in December 2009 and created the first professional shop front theatre in the country, offering small-scale performances and lunchtime readings and generally helping to maintain a thriving community in the wake of (serious voice) GLOBAL FINANCIAL MELTDOWN. Chris O’Connell’s new short play, All The Things I’d Do For You, is the first work written specifically for the venue in City Arcade, so I’d spent my train journey wondering if it was going to be more like Victoria Wood’s Dinnerladies, or more like that early episode of Spooks where Lisa Faulkner was bumped off in a deep fat fryer.
Contrary to the more site-specific work which relishes the grime and squalor of reclaimed spaces, Theatre Absolute’s renovation is all matte black walls and a comfortable lounge area, so not only is it unlike either Dinnerladies or Spooks, but you can take your Nan without having to brief her on portaloo etiquette beforehand.
It’s also about five times the size that I was anticipating. Back where I’m from (a bleak northern market town) you earn a portion of cod and chips by queuing round the block for half an hour, angling yourself into the driving rain when necessary. It’s a strict one-in-one-out policy between 5pm and 6.30pm, and on Fridays there is arguably a need for security. Here in Coventry, they had space for a full crop of King Edwards every year and a chicken run for the pickled eggs.
What all this means for Theatre Absolute of course, is that they have the flexibility to change the atmosphere of their venue, tucking an audience into an intimate corner or trying something grander. For All The Things I’d Do For You, they went for the snuggly corner option, and an audience of about 25 gathered around a simple set; table, two chairs and a doorway.
Without giving too much away, it was a story about a man dealing with his past demons (Jonah Russell, who was in the awesome tour of Kursk by Sound and Fury recently) and his wife (the equally brilliant Kate Ambler) who is also dealing with his demons, not least because he keeps smashing their house to pieces and locking her in the shower room. When you’re in a small audience for such an intense play, there can be a sinking feeling after the first lip quiver – “oh shit, not 45 minutes of drama school crying, for the love of God” – but these two performances were so natural and honest that I was under a spell pretty quickly. Jonah Russell did this amazing thing where he blinked a few times and suddenly looked ten years younger (there are women who would pay millions to do that) and then Kate Ambler’s character said the word “Grazia!” in this really touching way after he’d bought her a magazine to try to keep the peace.
Since I’m a demanding little madam, I’d have to say that the cursory inclusion of a bag of chips into one scene wasn’t strictly necessary, and perhaps there was a bit too much wandering about, if only because the swish of the actors’ jeans was louder than the whole audience put together.
That said though, Chris O’Connell’s script was teeming with the kind of quiet little moments that make a relationship; sniffing clean sheets and watching cats out of the back window. This is the stuff that turns the drama school crying into a genuine breakdown, and it’s a good job I had a train to catch, because I was tempted to stay behind and give them both a hug.
Review commissioned by the Empty Shops Network and written by Megan Vaughan; follow her at twitter.com/meganfvaughan