The Bloody Chamber stage adaptation to embark on a UK tour
© Russ Francis Photography
Proteus Theatre's stage adaptation of Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber (and Other Stories) will head out on a UK tour this spring.
The production, which enjoyed a successful run in Worthing last June, is billed as "an erotic, heady and feminist re-telling of Carter's dark fantasy fairy tales", combining physical theatre and aerial circus performance.
The cast is led by Rosie Rowlands (The Little Mermaid), Megan Brooks (Igloo), Ashley Christmas (The Rise and Fall of Little Voice), Anesta Mathurin (Aida) and Lorraine
Moynehan (Trapeze).
Adapted and directed by Mary Swan, the piece features design by Sam Pine, lighting design by Peter Harrison, musical direction, arrangements, sound design and production by Max Reinhardt, original composition by Paul Wild, dramaturgy by Saul Jaffe, production support by Turtle Key Arts, design and illustration by Alexander Innes,
acrobalance choreography by Silvia Fratelli, aerial choreography by Charlotte Mooney, hand balance choreography, aerial and acrobalance rehearsal direction by Tamzen Moulding and production management by Callum Thoma.
Swan commented: "Like so many female writers Angela Carter has long been
overlooked in the canon of great British literature, but happily this is finally beginning to change. Using circus as the chief physical language of the piece enables us to create the surreal, Escher type worlds of the castle in "The Bloody Chamber", the landscapes of "Wolf-Alice" and the nightmarish home of the vampire in "The Lady of the House of Love". Her work is sadly more relevant now than ever; the advice contained in the tales to young women is all too reminiscent of the list published by the Metropolitan Police in 2020 following the murder of Sarah Everard. The Reclaim the Night movement started in the late 1970s when Carter was writing "The Bloody Chamber", prompted by outrage at the murder of women on Britain's streets, and that we are still marching in 2022 is a depressing validation of all the warnings contained within these tales."
The 80-minute show is recommended for those aged 15 and over due to strong sexual references and some representations of violence.
The tour kicks off in Harlow on 23 March 2022, before visiting Sheffield, Harrograte, Lancaster, Sale, Basingstoke, Petersfield, Maidenhead and Norwich.
