Review: Orpheus & Eurydice, Bristol Old Vic – ‘Impressive and moving’

There is much to like about Orpheus & Eurydice at the Bristol Old Vic.

Firstly, it’s the culmination of a decade-long intention on the part of BOV’s engagement department to create and stage a large-scale community show – an aim that was stopped in its tracks by the pandemic – and funded by The Big Give 2022 which doubled donations from the public to reach a grand total of £47K. The cogs of theatre may turn terribly slowly, but apparently good things do come to those who wait.

It’s impressive and moving to see over 100 performers and singers filling the massive BOV main stage, especially when the back lights come on to reveal its full majestic depth. Shows are easily dwarfed on that stage, so having such a crowd on it feels for once like the perfect counterweight to all those bums on all those seats in that giant chocolate box of an auditorium.

Secondly, this show falls in Nancy Medina’s first season as artistic director in which she and the BOV team are “working to create a place where everyone feels they belong, a place where we can connect with each other”, and that’s backed up by more affordable pricing and open concession tickets.

The cover of BOV’s season brochure shouts COME ON IN in big red letters, and in that same spirit the vibe of this show is distinctly one of collaboration and belonging.

It’s a far cry from the not-so-distant olden days when the boxes, stalls and central circle were the preserve of a silvery-haired, well-heeled elite rattling their jewellery while we ‘groundlings’ peered down vertiginously from the tippety-top of the airless ‘gods’, having been elevated there in some weird twist on upward mobility.

Now, with some of those entrenched barriers being lowered and with an audience demographic that is gradually diversifying in age, class and ethnicity as a result, BOV is starting to feel a little bit like a people’s theatre in the making. It’s not yet the Northern Stage, TRON or Leeds Playhouse of the southwest, but it is trying harder.

Speaking of gods, this is a Greek myth and so of course it has some. They are played by tiny little children with dear little voices (the juniors of BOV’s Young Company), an inspired flourish by writer Adam Peck which suggests that we’d all be better off if children were not only running the show but the actual world.

The cast also features BOV Adult Company and Young SixSix members, community theatre groups Meadows to Meaders and ACTA. Managing all these groups must have been like a military operation in rehearsal, though they come together seamlessly on stage under Lisa Gregan’s deft direction, with the cunning use of theatre glue.

This Orpheus & Eurydice is a meditation on the many faces of love, and the curious way in which two ‘star-crossed’ future lovers are born, grow up and feel lost, until one day they meet each other, by chance. Or is it the Fates at work?

The ending of the show feels a little unsatisfying – Orpheus decides to stay in the Underworld and sing for the dead instead of following his beloved Eurydice back into life – but then I’m a purist when it comes to Greek myths.

Anyway, it is more than made up for by the many thoughtful and nuanced touches in this production: casting drug and alcohol recovery group Oi Polloi as the perfect crew to steer the ferryboat through the Underworld; peppering the show with heartfelt “what I know of love” poems, beautifully delivered by their writers; getting a brilliantly streetwise breakdancing trio to play Cerberus the dog; having BOV Community Choir interpret Orpheus’ divine voice in four-part harmony each time he opens his mouth to sing; positioning a ‘living’ Underworld directly below the suspension bridge as if it were there not just to cushion Eurydice’s fall and onward journey, but perhaps anyone’s; and aah… those charming little gods.

Getting on a Bristol ferryboat will never feel the same again.

For news and tickets to all upcoming shows at Bristol Old Vic, visit www.bristololdvic.org.uk.

All photos: Ben Robins

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