Reviews

Trenches
Pentameters
****

"A large rock in the middle of a desert; two itinerant protagonists dressed in camouflage combat gear; each one has a haversack containing their wordly goods.

One is Theofolis, an elegant figure with a pigtail of long white hair and a neat white beard. His haversack carries a curious assortment of goods: razor, mirror, aerosol room freshener, plastic bottle of water, binoculars and a blue plaster Madonna. He is given to visions and grandiloquent speeches about God.
Theodoulos is rougher, younger with a Scottish accent. His haversack contains T-shirts and a picture of his Mother. He is wounded. He wants to go home – or to sleep. He is not allowed to do either. Theofolis needs an audience to listen to his ‘visions’. And besides, they are waiting for the mysterious ‘them’. Theofolis takes out a mirror and shaving kit from his haversack and tidies himself up. ‘We don’t want them to think we are barbarians.’
Ostensibly this is a play about the total futility of war. These men have obviously been involved in some dreadful massacre. ‘Remember when we used to beat them up? Millions died and how beautifully they cried.’ They speculate on the expected army. ‘We don’t want to be caught in the middle if it starts again. We’ll find a side to be on.’ ‘Which side?’ ‘Does it matter?’
But the play is about much more than a couple of soldiers on the run. It is a first play by a very talented young author who shows the influence of Beckett and his style of abstract poetic dialogue. It bears much resemblance to Waiting for Godot – both in settings, characters and complexity.
Giles Foreman’s direction is always fascinating to watch and listen to. The bleak setting is relieved by brightly coloured facial features projected on to the back of the stage. The acting is superb. David Gant as the Godlike Theofolis gives the kind of bravura performance seldom seen these days and Anthony Barton is the perfect foil with his innocence and vulnerability."
ALINE WAITES: Hampstead and Highgate Express
"Eli Azuri’s first play is not, as would first appear, about two dessert deserters in an unspecified war trying to hide from the enemy and relocate their unit. The two soldiers are obviously caught in the middle of some existential battlefield. Why are we here? What is the point?

Azuri is a gifted writer with a debt to Beckett who needs to carry on his exploration of playwriting because there is so much potential here. The opening monologue is among the best I have heard this year in a new play. He has a talented team. Agnes Treplin’s set design is sparse yet effective, and Giles Foreman’s direction makes full use of it and allows the two actors to develop freely within their characters. Anthony Barton’s younger soldier has a mortal injury - his sensitivity and love of his mother a hindrance to him able to define himself as a man?
David Grant gives an astoundingly good performance as the older man, driven manic by the life’s constant questioning, by the pressures of religious belief and by the constant battle to keep his emotions under control and to conform to the societal role of the man."
JEREMY AUSTIN: The Stage

Blue Remembered Hills
"Caravanserai’s performance of Blue Remembered Hills was highly memorable and among the best productions I have ever seen. The company were absolutely delightful and ran really well-structured and helpful workshops before the performance. There was also a really useful post-show discussion where pupils were able to ask the director and actors questions.
The company of actors were outstanding bringing each character clearly to life. Their clever use of a black box set and auditorium space created the illusion of the locations very simply and effectively using only sound, lighting and seating levels.
Pupils aged 14 to 18 were delighted with the whole evening. It was of enormous benefit to GCSE and A level pupils who were preparing to take their summer examinations. Several pupils commented: “It brought the text to life for me” “it made me understand the social and cultural context” “it helped me with ideas for performance analysis” “it made me laugh and cry” “it gave me masses of ideas for writing essays in my exam” “ I loved the workshop and the performance it made me understand the play much better” “it really brought out how the war affected the children’s behaviour” “I was really impressed with the way they portrayed children” “I couldn’t believe how energetic and childlike they were”
I really hope Caravanserai are planning more productions for the future. I would certainly book them again as they were absolutely excellent value for money."
JANE HARRIS: Head of Drama, Marist Senior School

"Among the best productions I have ever seen"
"highly memorable"
"the actors were outstanding"
"bringing each character to life"
‘It brought the text to life’
‘It made me understand the social and cultural context’
‘It made me laugh and cry’
‘They had tons of energy’
’Highly formed characters’
‘Wonderful and evocative’

Dr Faustus
Bridewell Theatre

Opening night and the theatre was full; the tension was high while the audience waited anxiously for this classic to unfold.
The story of Dr Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593), examines the consequences of gluttony, vanity and indulgence. The protagonist yearns to acquire complete knowledge, regardless of the cost, and willingly barters his sole to the devil. The return is to be an all-knowing, all-powerful magician. Of course there are religious overtones - hell is bad and heaven is good - but even if you do not subscribe to these beliefs, you cannot ignore the moral implications of The Seven Deadly Sins, for which the only, "reward is death". These moral and religious overtones seemed a little dated, but that may also be another sign of our complacence. Sin v virtue, good v evil, right v wrong, knowledge v mysticism, etc, etc made the production a little too black and white. These archetypes were all a bit too predictable, but I guess stereotypes work for a reason. On the whole, the production might have benefited from a little bit of subtlety.
Caravanserai Productions was an ambitious attempt to incorporate over twenty actors into a wheel of carnal pleasures and charismatic characters; from Sexy Lucifer, played with a mescaline sense of cool by Rachel Allinson, to the arrogant Doctor Faustus, played with commitment by Alex Froom. The use of ritual and chorus worked well, as did the constant tension maintained by the performers throughout. The atmosphere was dark and moody with the lighting (Neil Brinkworth) reinforcing this.
There were some beautifully formed movement scenes by Movement Director Liana Nyquist and Fight Consultant Suzanne Archer. The physical performance worked well here and proved to be a powerful visual element to the production. It would have been even more memorable had this been weaved throughout the whole play. Jeff Mash, who played Benvolio, was also enjoyable to watch, while Fiona Graham, who played the Empress, gave an extremely confident performance.
Congratulations to the director: Giles Foreman's stylistic production of Doctor Faustus turns a dense and complicated text into a piece of theatre, populated by a huge cast who are all at different stages of their careers. I feel this production will be reinventing itself each and every night and the cast will continue to push their own creative boundaries.
Lennie Varvarides: british theatre guide

A review by an unknown blogger!
I went to see the Caravanserai production of Faustus at the Bridewell last night. Absolutely loved the whole thing. It was the closest thing I’ve seen to Total Theatre for some time. All the trappings were there – computer graphics, naked acrobats, plumes of smoke, an abundance of sound and fury. I’m now convinced that the play calls for something spectacular. The genius of the Caravanserai production was that it seamlessly wove together scenes of tightly focussed intimacy, tenderness and economy with outrageously opulent visual spectacle. The humanity was never lost, even for a second. For me, a confirmed lover of spectacle, the whole thing was a joy to behold.