#rashdash

[theatrebubble]

RashDash's Three Sisters to tour UK @RashDashTheatre Feminist theatre and music makers RashDash are ripping up Anton Chekhov’s revered 1900 play and reimagining it with electric guitars. 

[onlyjustbegunensemble-blog]

First Performance Day! Fright at the Museum: our response to Feminist play #TwoManShow by #Rashdash. Looking at gender in the workplace and challenging how we view bodies

[adamzed]

The Ugly Sisters at West Yorkshire Playhouse - Review

Re-imagined fairy tales allow us to get the to heart of a story in an instant. We know the background, the general geography of the narrative and, most crucially, the characters. These facts are often reasons why many retellings of classic tales are lazy and little half-arsed.

Nothing could be further from the truth, however, in the case of Rash Dash's The Ugly Sisters. It's hard to establish the premise without making the show sound like yet another rehashing of a fairy tale which is far from my experience of this boisterous, brilliant production. But here goes: Emerald and Pearl (Abbi Greenland and Helen Goalen) are the eponymous siblings. Along with their mother, Ruby, the girls' early life involves living in a burned-out car and watching as their mum attempts to build a decent life for them. 

After meeting a new boyfriend and quickly moving her family into his home, Ruby begins to favour her new step-daughter, Arabella, and neglect her own two children. Charting the sisters' adolescence and early womanhood, we're moved ultimately into the familiar terrain of the TV talent show. All three girls become contestants on an X-Factor style dating game where the object is to be a princess to an attractive aristocrat. Will one of the dubbed ugly sisters triumph over their beautiful, spoilt step-sister? No. Of course not. 

RashDash have a furious, wild energy about them. The piece in its essence is a manic cabaret with polished punk anthems and ditzy ballads peppering the storytelling. Our heroines use the spotlight to redress the balance of their media portrayal and settle of few scores. Their antics are raucous and infectious. The choreography lends a sense of anarchy and spontaneity - another trick which is very hard to pull off but that is managed by Greenland and Goalen with aplomb. 

The company really understand comedy and comic timing. There are some moments in the piece which, in the hands of lesser artists, would have fallen flat. The writing, development and performance of The Ugly Sisters means that even the simplicity of a perfectly chosen inflection at the end of an otherwise dry sentence makes it a punchline. I'm cautious to use the term 'inimitable' but this is exactly what springs to mind when watching this company.  

The music is provided by Not Now Bernard, a fizzing trio of multi-instrumentalists (to borrow from Howard Moon) who provide the perfect musical backdrop. The music is fast, harsh and melodic with nods toward The Cure, Siouxsie Sioux and The Pixies. Most of all, though, I was really put in mind of The Tiger Lillies as the actors and band tantrummed their way through the bittersweet and effecting chapters of sound. 

The company play with ideas of audience discomfort and of assumed knowledge of both the story and of contemporary theatre practises. They pull it off masterfully; keeping the crowd on edge at the appropriate moments and endearing themselves to us at others.  

We feel for Emerald and Pearl, too. And not in a "look how misunderstood the ugly sisters are" kind of way. It's in their mannerisms. They're like two young girls who have demanded the microphone only to realise their ambition outstretches their ability by a country mile. But, they're damned if that's going to stop them telling their tale. 

The character development is rich and, at times, enchantingly sweet. There's a heart-wrenching moment when Emerald composes a one-person, looped song about her relationship with her mother. It's very simple but the harmonious layering is a delight. The pathos of the moment lingers perfectly before it is snatched away and crumpled by Emerald's brattish hand; almost as though she is conditioned into feeling ashamed of the beauty she has created. 

The sum of the parts of The Ugly Sisters are very simple. Silly, noisy, overexcited and energetic performances; loud and dominant music; a familiar story with a dash of social critique drizzled on top. But each of the parts is so deliciously-honed and cared for that the result is a sensation. Every aspect of the play is a proper treat. It's certainly the case that a few story points are lost in the cacophony of sound and shouting and that RashDash have just nipped in before the point at which talent show satire is beginning to yawn its head off. But, honestly, none of this matters. 

This is an incredibly skilled and alive theatre company. Their residency at the West Yorkshire Playhouse is a very exciting prospect. I can't wait to see their next show. 

I saw The Ugly Sisters at the West Yorkshire Playhouse on Friday 13th September. Visit www.wyp.org.uk

[unpocalypse]

one of my favourite shows at the edinburgh fringe - The Ugly Sisters by Rashdash. A physical theatre/cabaret show based on Cinderella, from the perspective of the ugly sisters, with a reality show twist - something which sounded like it was going to be a bad GCSE drama project, and ended up being incredible.