First Bites Directors' Season

Dawn Walton - David Tse

Oval House Theatre

Mark Tyson

The First Bites Directors' season at the Oval House Theatre gave an opportunity for four talented directors to presnt work-in-progress. The directors were given a space to experiment and to focus on ideas, away from the usual commercial and financial pressures.

First Bites also gave an opportunity for other writers and performers, critics and interested members of the public, to gain an insight into the processes involved in putting together a production.

The first presentation was by Dawn Walton. Her piece was billed as an adaptation of the Harlem cycle of novels by Chester Himes. There are eight novels in the series; the segment chosen by Dawn Walton may be familiar from the 1991 film A Rage In Harlem.

Dawn Walton has previous credits, notably for her work with the Mamamissi Production Theatre Company, whose production of The Changeling has recently come to an end at the Southwark Playhouse. First Bites gave her an opportunity to make her first attempt at adapting a book to the stage. The process, she says, has prompted her to re-evaluate how a play is structured. She chose the novel because of its many 'amazing' characters; even incidental figures like cab drivers are interesting. Her task was to decide who to keep in and who to leave out, which characters are important and which aren't. Himes' dialogue will be used wherever possible, but there is also the important matter of writing additional dialogue that blends with the original.

The reading of the completed part of the script was performed by three actors who played all the parts between them. The story is full of twists and turns. It is funny but hard-edged. There are scams going on all over the place and the characters have all been forced by circumstances to live on their wits.

Dawn Walton is excited by the challenge of reproducing the book's action sequences, car chases and the like on stage. That said, the reading itself was enjoyable and the audience response suggests that this is a strong project.

David Tse's project was billed as taking the concept of 'two towers - one rising, one falling - to explore the limits of communication'. The title babel:dust, gave some clues about the themes of the performance. David Tse's piece uses movement, music, props and lighting to create a cinematic effect. There is no dialogue as such. The four performers, including Tse, are all from different parts of the world. They speak in their native languages (I'm assuming here), they also use hand signs, gestures and strange vocal expressions.

Towards the beginning of the piece my heart sank when all the members of the audience were handed pieces of plasticine and cajoled in to making models which we placed on the floor in front of us. I'm from the 'them and us' school of performers and audiences - suffice to say audience participation is not my thing. I was relieved when the cast members ran along the rows trampling our efforts in to the ground. But I am detracting from a powerful moment, disconcerting for those who had taken great care and attention with their models.

David Tse says that he was strongly affected by the events of 9/11. He sees a thematic link with the story of the Tower of Babel, where man attempts to usurp god, and where in their vanity men end up speaking many different languages where once there was one. He also sees a connection between the 9/11 bombers and the recent riots in some of Britain's northern towns. There are complex issues of marginalisation, alienation, mis-communication, anger and frustration. He is also interested in the idea of 'cosmic dust', this is the idea that we are all made out of the same stuff.

I think that Tse is expressing a concern at our ongoing preoccupations with diversity and difference, to the detriment of our common humanity. Whether Tse will develop this piece is uncertain, but it is full of ideas, strands and techniques that he can, and undoubtedly will develop in the future.

One off performance.

See the Culture Wars review of other First Bites shows here.

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