This brave, bold company was created by two of the ‘The Pillowman’ actors, uncovers new avenues of theatre, focusing on different techniques and physical theatre. In 2013, American-Irish actress and creative inspiration, Rebecca Virginia Williams, joined the group as their director.

The two and a half hour shows run nightly until Saturday 19^th April at 8.00 pm.

The scene is an office in a police station, in an undemocratic country. There is a table and three chairs. The back ground consists of two, white translucent screens.

          Seated on a chair, with a black bag over his head, is Katurian (Jordan Gallagher) a pleasant young writer, who has written a series of ghastly short stories that are supposedly fiction but have been found to have a vivid resemblance to murders of local children.

        These three brutal murders are being investigated by the smiling Detective Tupolski (Garreth Bradshaw) whose mood can swing in a split second. His colleague is Detective Ariel (Bryn Coldrick) a sadistic thug who hates retarded people and paedophiles. On seeing the resemblance of the murders to the stories they decide to interrogate Katurian in their own thorough way.

       Whilst searching Katurian’s house, they discover his introverted, mentally challenged brother, Michal (Kiefer Moriarty-Short). Katurian is devastated on finding out that Michal has been talked into confessing to the child murders and, despite being in custody is determined to come to his rescue. But will the detectives listen to him?

This is a beautifully constructed drama with precise dialogue that holds you on edge for the whole performance. The marvellous director is Rebecca Virginia Williams, who has brought the ‘brothers’ of the play over from Sligo in Ireland. Rebecca has also selected from our local talent, Bryn Coldrick – who was recently glorious in ‘The trial of Judas’ – and Garreth Bradshaw, one of WA’s best directors, to take the other two parts. Garreth managed to produce and retain a most acceptable Irish accent throughout.

There are two very powerful and demanding acts, but the whole cast kept up the pace and drama without faltering. There was convincing violence with some very threatening moments, but nothing that would stay with you and thanks to the finely blended humour, unlikely to cause sleepless nights. No doubt, the amazing performances would probably take the actors hours to unwind.

Costume designers, Leah Toyne and Amy Murray have given a great deal of thought to the costumes, dressing the two brothers simply, giving them a vulnerable appearance. Tupolski was in totally in black – shirt, suit and overcoat; Ariel was in a black leather jacket, this made the pair look like Nazis.

The white screens were used throughout to display the projected silhouettes of the characters depicted in Katurian’s stories as they were being related. This live art was by Nic Doig. The lighting was very well designed (Rebecca Thompson) with powerful spots at floor level to head height, this gave harsh dramatic shadows and, with the new LED lamps, the perfect colour tone. The sound design called for some unusual effects, but Drew Krapljanov conquered the challenge well.

This topic of this play looks horrendous, but with such a clever script and magnificent, well directed performances, this could well be the outstanding play of the year. All theatre students should see this play to let them know what true acting is all about. If you appreciate quality, try and get a ticket, but with only 80 tiered seats in the auditorium be quick. Outstanding.

The newly renovated venue is wonderful. Gone are the damp cobbles, intertwined with pollen-laden soil and dirt, having been replaced by a new, polished concrete floor that gives a much warmer feel to the venue, coupled with improved sound properties. As there are no seats for the whole performance, – the audience move from one scene to another – the floor is much easier on the legs.

 I will not give a rundown of this very well-known storyline, but simply list the characters. The teamwork was outstanding, and under the guidance of the innovative and courageous director, Garreth Bradshaw, the cast were stretched to the limit of their acting abilities. Each character, no matter how simply stated or minor in the text came alive with unique mannerisms and personality.

The whole cast was stunning, and it seems unfair to pick out a few for special mention, however, extraordinary performances were given by the first few below:-

 Romeo Montague (Daley King) demonstrated his total frustration at struggling to be with Juliet. Excellent enunciation.

The demure, diminutive 14 year-old, Juliet Capulet (Madelaine Page) is presented perfectly as heartbroken on being separated from her love, by her manipulating mother.

Lady Capulet (Sally Bruce), normally played as a slightly disinterested mild mother, was shown here to have real anger and fire in her belly.

The Cockney nurse (Hannah Day), dressed in a Madonna style, gold lamé dress, was – on appearances – the kind of woman that no one would employ as a babysitter, however, she gave a most moving performance at the loss of her ‘child’.

The self-assured Tybalt (Jordan Gallagher) gave an astounding fight scene.

The rough, streetwise, Mercutio (Patrick Downes) really put fear into everyone he encountered.

Friar Francis (Richard Mellick) is usually depicted as a quiet, pious priest; however, Richard took the final scene to a new level, when he confessed to supplying the drugs and laid his soul bare.

The supporting cast of Benvolio (Nic Doig), Sampson (Amy Murray), the wimpish County Paris (Keifer Short) and The Prince (Garreth Bradshaw) brought further humour and tension to the play.

The very large stage / floor has several scene areas, the street, the church, the Friar’s rooms, a kitchen and Juliet’s chamber. The performers subtly act as sheepdogs, herding the audience to the appropriate area. Because of the intimacy, and most of the acting was within arm’s length, you felt as though you are right at the centre of the family battles or a voyeur in the boudoir.

The funeral service for Juliet was heart-rending, one of the most moving scenes I have experienced in the theatre, as the mourners (the audience) followed the bier, accompanied by the dirge-like tune, ‘Salvation’.

The occasional contemporary music was supplemented by music specially composed by the local musicians, ‘The Men from another Place’. Wandering minstrel, Richard Mellick leading the ensemble in the final chorus.

The lighting of silver festoons of fairy lights, glowed beautifully against the simple white set. The  Stage Manager of this complex production was Rebecca Thompson. Costume design, from the sublime to the weird, was by Sally Phipps.

Andy Fraser directed the fight scenes between the families, with épais and rapiers crashing – not just the usual foils – the movements and choreography of the combatants was complex and at times horrifying. The producers gave the show the tag of R18, which is a slight exaggeration; considering the sexy but restrained scenes, and the violence, an M or MA would perhaps be nearer the mark.

There was a great deal of humour in the script, but I felt that the audience were slightly embarrassed to laugh at some very droll comments.

This truly is a special version of this theatrical favourite, with all of the characters studied and depicted as they should have been – no punches pulled. ‘Upstart’ has a reputation for quality and this was another success to add to their collection. Magnificent.