By: Jim Hutchins
This is a story of the countryside with its folktales and its own, dark kind of magic.
Badgers comes to Theatre Royal Plymouth direct from its sold-out world premiere in the Traverse Theatre, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Originally commissioned by Theatre Royal Plymouth and produced by Theatre Royal Plymouth in association with Bristol Old Vic, the show has attracted a full house tonight at The Drum.
Badgers not only invites us to step into a story for an hour, but to experience that story from inside the character Meles, a young podcaster living in the shadow of her famous journalist mother.
If this was simply another story about trying to compare one’s place and achievement in the world with that of your parents, it might still be a story worth telling.
Badgers, though, is many more stories than that.
It is the story of Meles, voiced by actor Hanora Kamen, her career, her relationship with her mother and ultimately her coming to terms with her mother’s own story.
It is a story of the countryside with its strange ways and dark superstitions.
The story of a folk musician who goes missing.
The story of a reclusive old lady.
A story about how people can be.
And we are reminded that we all have our own stories to tell.
My initial worry that the different strands are too diverse dissolve as the tale is woven together by our storyteller, the show’s award-winning writer and performer, Malaika Kegode.
She engages all parts of the audience, warning us that she’s going to take us into the Meles character, but promising to return us safely at the end.
Her script and her performance are lyrical and powerful throughout and she firmly holds our attention as we follow the story.
For many of the other characters, we hear only their voices, but they are no less present than our storyteller.
As we settle down to listen to the story, gentle folk guitar plays in the background.
The lighting changes and we realise that composer, actor and musician, Joe Williams is actually on stage, alongside fellow multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Beth Roberts.
Far from simply playing the mysterious folk song discovered by the character Ben, they perform the musical score composed by Joe’s band, Jakobol, providing powerful mood and drama throughout the show.
The technical elements, from co-lighting designers Mike Gunning and Natalia Chan to Christopher Harrisson’s video design help us visualise and engage with the hidden characters.
This gig-theatre presentation has been meticulously crafted and it is no surprise that it received a string of four- and five- star reviews in Edinburgh.
Badgers is on at The Drum Theatre at Theatre Royal Plymouth until Saturday 05 September.