By Michael Coveney
Tweet

Michael Coveney: Travails in the Traverse

Most of yesterday was spent in the smaller Traverse, which is like sitting in an oven turned up to Gas Mark Five. Luckily the plays were almost worth it, and Groundhog Day was enlivened by some bad behaviour, onstage and off.

The one show I skipped was Tim Crouch's The Author, with its pre-arranged audience disruption, to which some of said disrupted audience are taking very strong exception and disrupting the disruption by walking out.

Traverse director Dominic Hill had to exit smartly, too, from The Girl in the Yellow Dress, as the builders and stonemasons fiddling about on the disgraceful building site outside suddenly got very noisy.

And the curse of strict scheduling kicked in when two people at My Romantic History had to beetle away, presumably to a late night comedian somewhere, as the show droned on way past its ninety minute mark.

My Romantic History is co-presented by the Sheffield Crucible -- who have designed the set of cardboard packing boxes -  and the Bush, typical of this year's collaborative frenzy at the Traverse.

The Girl in the Yellow Dress comes with input from the Glasgow Citizens, LIVE Theatre in Newcastle and the Market, Johannesburg; and Speechless with Shared Experience and Sherman Cymru;

The Traverse is on its own with Sam Holcroft's While You Lie and will have to carry the can for all its onstage excesses involving assisted masturbation, genital surgery, sexual sadism and unspeakable acts with a roast chicken.

Such a relief to get to the bar after that little caper. The staff are all wearing black T-shirts with an identical logo on the back: "Thank You For Coming."

The pleasure was all ours, and it's a lovely reminder of the title of founding Traverse director Jim Haynes's raunchy and free-wheeling autobiography. So I'm sure we'll all come again.

- by Michael Coveney

Any opinions expressed above do not represent the view of Whatsonstage.com nor any of its staff or contributors beyond the bylined author.

Related Content

Other Posts By Michael Coveney
	Michael Coveney: Charity begins at home with John Lyon's - 24th May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: Big Apple bites and Manhattan memories - 22nd May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: New York honours Matilda with five big awards - 20th May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: Tales from New York in Kinky Boots - 17th May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: Finsbury hails its local Park Theatre opening - 15th May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: Hooray for Halifax and Carrie's ENO debut - 13th May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: All change at Trafalgar, Liverpool and Finsbury Park - 10th May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: Critics come full Circle in centenary bash - 8th May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: High old time with High Tide in Halesworth - 7th May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: Hytner steams on, Sondheim scintillates - 2nd May 2013 blog
	More...

Reader Comments