The Psychic Detective (and those disappeared)
Benchtours invigorate their productions with a strong sense of the avant-garde, challenging traditional conceptions of the medium
| 09 Aug 2007
The mission statement for Benchtours, one of Scotland's best established touring theatre groups, is 'revisualizing theatre' – a double-entendre suggesting their interest in offbeat, modern and radical theatrical experimentation, as well as their commitment to re-introducing a strong visual element to the dramatic experience. Not only do Benchtours invigorate their productions with a strong sense of the avant-garde, challenging traditional conceptions of the medium, but they also quite literally revisualize theatre. Their startling, physical and optical interpretations of classic texts from Brecht to Chekhov have given many dusty dramatic stalwarts a unique slant.
Benchtours was founded in 1991 by a group of students who met in Paris studying under Philippe Gaulier – one of the world's leading experts in clowning, bouffon and physical theatre and a muse whose influence is still, 16 years on, very evident on the company's work. The group quickly developed a keen following and a strong critical reputation, and their work has become a mainstay of the Scottish theatre scene. Benchtours are renown not only for their exciting new work and notable commissions championed by the likes of The Tramway and of course now the National Theatre of Scotland, but have carved out an impressive reputation for their striking and provocative treatments of classics such as The Cherry Orchard and Peer Gynt.
The most recent project in this formidable lineage is The Psychic Detective (and those disappeared), which gets its Scottish premier at this year's Fringe. The show deals with many of Benchtours' favourite themes, and is typically ambitious in its visual and physical style. The play is billed as a 'surreal film noir thriller', which tells the glamorous, mysterious and intense tale of Patrick Brett, Private Eye. Expect more than just a standard rehash of the film noir genre, however, as the production is bound to be imbued with Benchtours' signature subversion. Not only is the show's content intriguing, but the venue is something of a draw in itself. The play takes place in the Benchtours stagetruck, a small 20-seater auditorium set up inside an industrial truck. The concept is a simple but ingenious way of facilitating the company's commitment to taking their shows all over the UK without compromising any of their deft and meticulous visual set up or their complex audio-visual illusory experience. Rather than crowbar their vision into different theatres across the country, they bring their own venue along with them – perfectly suited to their purposes, with no hassle and no compromises to their staging. Suffice to say that as well as convenience, the stagetruck provides an intimate and atmospheric site specific location for their work, which relies so heavily on the physical response elicited in the viewer.
Over the last decade avant-garde, experimental theatre with a strong physical presence and clear international influence has really blossomed in Scotland, and although with every Fringe we see more and more home-grown companies developing visual, multi-media, 'envelope pushing' work, Benchtours can deservedly claim to be one of the country's original pioneers of this type of theatre. If you want to see intelligent, quirky, engaging and impressive new writing this festival, this is not to be missed, but book early – the stagetruck only seats 20 and this is bound to be a hot ticket from day one.
Benchtours was founded in 1991 by a group of students who met in Paris studying under Philippe Gaulier – one of the world's leading experts in clowning, bouffon and physical theatre and a muse whose influence is still, 16 years on, very evident on the company's work. The group quickly developed a keen following and a strong critical reputation, and their work has become a mainstay of the Scottish theatre scene. Benchtours are renown not only for their exciting new work and notable commissions championed by the likes of The Tramway and of course now the National Theatre of Scotland, but have carved out an impressive reputation for their striking and provocative treatments of classics such as The Cherry Orchard and Peer Gynt.
The most recent project in this formidable lineage is The Psychic Detective (and those disappeared), which gets its Scottish premier at this year's Fringe. The show deals with many of Benchtours' favourite themes, and is typically ambitious in its visual and physical style. The play is billed as a 'surreal film noir thriller', which tells the glamorous, mysterious and intense tale of Patrick Brett, Private Eye. Expect more than just a standard rehash of the film noir genre, however, as the production is bound to be imbued with Benchtours' signature subversion. Not only is the show's content intriguing, but the venue is something of a draw in itself. The play takes place in the Benchtours stagetruck, a small 20-seater auditorium set up inside an industrial truck. The concept is a simple but ingenious way of facilitating the company's commitment to taking their shows all over the UK without compromising any of their deft and meticulous visual set up or their complex audio-visual illusory experience. Rather than crowbar their vision into different theatres across the country, they bring their own venue along with them – perfectly suited to their purposes, with no hassle and no compromises to their staging. Suffice to say that as well as convenience, the stagetruck provides an intimate and atmospheric site specific location for their work, which relies so heavily on the physical response elicited in the viewer.
Over the last decade avant-garde, experimental theatre with a strong physical presence and clear international influence has really blossomed in Scotland, and although with every Fringe we see more and more home-grown companies developing visual, multi-media, 'envelope pushing' work, Benchtours can deservedly claim to be one of the country's original pioneers of this type of theatre. If you want to see intelligent, quirky, engaging and impressive new writing this festival, this is not to be missed, but book early – the stagetruck only seats 20 and this is bound to be a hot ticket from day one.