The Cockpit Archives - North West End UK

6Jul

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Medea Gosperia – The Cockpit

I have a mild obsession with Medea, prompted by the realisation that there is not enough time to read, study and analyse The Classics, so probably wise to just focus on one banger until the coffin lid closes on my life. It was Rachel Cusk’s brilliant vision of the Euripides shocker at the Almeida which put me on this path. Kate Fleetwood’s performance and the entire production blew my mind. It moved me as a piece of theatre, but also turned me on to the text. This nouveau fevered enthusiasm led me to the 1969 Pier Paolo Pasolini film with Maria Callas, which gave me full-blown Medea mania. Medea Gosperia is presented as a ‘brand new jazz/gospel opera’ which in many ways, ticked a lot of boxes for me, but led to widespread hoots and horror when mentioned to my peers. It’s fair to s...

Electra Untitled – The Cockpit

Bloody your hands if your story is being told without you having a say in it. "Dance, dance, furies, lock your arms!". This rendition of Electra's part of Greek mythology, produced and presented by Vertebra Theatre, explores the story of this controversial character, with the legacy it has had in theatre, through the eyes of four actors and a director, who devised and interpreted it: Alexa Komari, Emilie Largier, Masumi Saito, Elena Stamoulakatou, Mayra Sergiou. Sergiou oversaw the concept, the adaptation and the direction as well. On stage, we also see Gregory Emfietzis, who composed the music and plays the violin, the drum and the electronics. The play introduces us to the pathos of Elektra's story immediately, through the image of four faceless, red-tinted actors, covered in drape...

Fester – The Cockpit

Fester is a new devised physical theatre performance based on the story of Gretchen from Goethe's Faust. Produced by Halfpace Theatre, a new company dedicated to new work and devised theatre created by artists of underrepresented backgrounds, the show was performed at the Cockpit Theatre during the Camden Fringe. Devised by a majority migrant and marginalized gender team with Megan Brewer’s direction and Daria Vasko’s design, the show offers a playful and powerful reinterpretation of Goethe’s seminal work told through the lens of its titular female character, Gretchen. With strong performances by the ensemble and an intriguing design, this show leaves us with many reflections about the representation of marginalized individuals by drawing our attention towards the character of Gretchen and...