The residents of a Cornish town aren’t feeling too good: tourism is on the wane and business is scarce. The chip shop is empty of customers and the high street is full of charity shops; the locals are leaving for better places. So far so bad… but this is theatre so something unexpected is bound to happen, and it does. A containership of Lego has been battered by a storm and the tiny plastic pieces are starting to wash up on the beach. Has the tide turned?
Lego Beach is the first work to be presented by INKBLOC Ensemble. It was developed last year by emerging theatre makers on the Made in Bristol programme, which was run by Bristol Old Vic Engagement Department. It’s based on a true event and uses music, puppetry, songs and physical theatre to tell the story of the surprising jackpot that materialises for the fictional Cornish village of Bevill. An influx of Lego enthusiasts arrives bringing business and prosperity, for some. The tourists want to collect the tiny pieces, fervently scrabbling in the sand for their favourites. There is money to be made but tensions and rivalries are appearing amongst the locals. Corruption and jealousy invade the friendships.
INKBLOC tell their tale with simple sets and props. There is subtle and effective lighting to match the eerie soundscapes. The acting sections are punctuated with jolly and amusing songs and the seven players are enthusiastic and bold in their drama work. At the start there are seashore sounds and an atmospheric soundtrack. Black sheets cover boxes like dark cliffs, blue lighting washes the stage. The actors emerge in dungarees and stripped T-shirts, with violin and accordion playing shanties. They use the music, props and choreography to take us to the coast. The village characters are animated and larger than life. Debbie the caravan park owner, played by Genevieve Sabherwal, is bright and haughty. Casey Lloyd plays bucolic chip shop proprietor Lenny and Toby Robertshaw plays the cheerless old fisherman Rod, both with a twist of humour on the side. Zoë Hitchen is the over-keen councillor June, trying to get a few more signatories for her petition. The cast is completed by Jennie Harris as the calmer young student Rosie, with the talented Claire Crawford and Alison Cowling doing music and other parts. The whole cast are also the creative team, with the addition of lighting by Imogen Senter and sound design by Jack Orozco Morrison.
Lego Beach is a dramatic and inventive play with a slightly tacked-on moral subtext. The cast work hard at the characters but the best moments are provided by the mime and physical theatre. Immersed in the evocative lighting and charming sounds, using the limited resources on stage, they succeed in bringing the atmosphere of the sea and shore into the theatre space. Clever little props, puppetry and acro-balance blend to generate an engaging banquet for the senses. It’s an amusing hour of theatre. ★★★☆☆ Adrian Mantle 6th April 2018
