Blue Beard: Review

In the Convent of the Three F’s, Mother Superior (Katy Owen) runs a tight ship of fun activities and a safe, if uneasy space. She tells a tail of Bluebeard (Tristan Sturrock), a dark and alluring magician who holds terrible secrets. Three characters who have recently lost their patriarch- Precious (Patriycja Kujawska) the matriarch, Trouble (Stephanie Hockley) and Lucky (Robyn Sinclair). The two daughters become dangerously enchanted by him. Lucky becomes his wife. This story Mother Superior recites to a The Lost Brother (Adam Mirsky) who comes to the convent for her for help. The Lost Brother has a story of his own, a story of a wonderful older sister who is a free spirit with a guitar and a poetic mind. This is writer, director and founder of the company Wise Children, Emma Rice’s new work Blue Beard.

It’s about girls and women and how just getting on with having a good life is a fight. But it also holds a message about waking up to signs around us of a dominant force that needs to change. And change it does in the story within a story when the characters realise their power lies in standing together.

I absolutely love Emma Rice’s work. I love the mix of glittered back street cabaret- a dark tale told ornately. If I see a metal rig and mirror balls awaiting before the show begins then I know it’s going to be a good time. The wonder is that a cast of eight, (as Stu Baker musician and composer and MD is included}, can give the impression you are watching a cast of twenty. It’s filled with theatrical delights – screens, tricks and costume surprises but the main attraction is the versatility and accomplished performances of the cast. I’ve decided that I would quite like to just watch this cast do every show I go to in the future. There were just fantastic. Worth the price of the ticket, worth their wages and for keeping theatre alive and well, Emma Rice and her caravan of accomplished actor/musicians are worth their weight in gold.

It’s that rich in metaphor, in relatability and experiences of women – I don’t know where to start. So I’m just going to concentrate on the ‘three rings’. Before mobile phones, the three rings was a way of communicating to family or friends that you are at your expected destination. When you’re young and you use it, it’s about letting your carers know you are safe without appearing childlike. When you’re older and you used it, it’s because we know the world is unsafe and we worry about it each other. Many of us will have a counterpart- friend or relation, that will still ask us to let them know when we get in. Many of us are the person who asks. As a metaphor it is a manifestation of fear, a declaration of safety and relief. But also in the show – a dramatic tool in the show to kickstart a rescue.

We were hit hard by the end. We had been through a lot and I think if you have experience of the themes, then it’s the right mix for you when it comes to what I might call traumedy. To be able to laugh in the face of perpretrators is a great start for future change.

A Wise Children, Birmingham Rep, HOME Manchester, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and York Theatre Royal co-production presents Blue Beard at Home Manchester from 13 to 24 Februrary 2024. Age guidance 14+