A collaboration between WildBoy Productions and Female Company hits the Musgrove Theatre this Halloween, with a double bill of The Cagebirds by David Campton and Mark Healey’s adaption of The Collector by John Fowles. These dark tales ask what you would do if you were kept in the dark.

The Cagebirds

This absurdist play centres on eight women (or birds), each obsessed with their own petty interests who are trapped, literally and metaphorically, within a cage at the mercy of The Mistress. When the Wild One is introduced to the cage, questions of freedom and loyalties ruffle some feathers. 

The set for the show (designed by Sam Mence) is great, and holds promise of a strong directorial vision. Each character has her own area to play in and escape to, which gives the sense of this being their ‘perch’, on which they senselessly bob.

Each character is very clearly defined in this script, and the cast do a good job of inhabiting their chosen energies and traits. There are inconsistencies in stylistic choices between them however, and this weakens the piece as a whole as it is hard to believe they are inhabiting the same world.

The cast is on stage when we walk in, each going through a movement and sound motif that sums up their character’s obsession. This is a nice choice, however the inconsistencies between the stylistic choices of the women makes for a performance that sits tepidly in between naturalistic and fairly stylised. The role of the audience too has been missed as there is not a consistent choice about the awareness the characters have of us, or their knowledge of our awareness of them.

The moments that are most interesting are the ones where we are let in to their world by characters talking directly to us – credit to Lucy Smith and Amanda Grace Leo for this. What is interesting too is when the women start to connect more with each other. This happens mostly in the second half with the introduction of the Wild One to the cage, and talk of the outside world. This shift is nice, and obviously a deliberate choice by director Lisa Fothergill.

I wish, however, that in ignoring each other in the first half of the show, there was more sense of this being a real choice by each character. If the cast had played something more active more often, by trying to do something (like block out each other, or compete for the affections of the mistress), rather than trying to not do something (i.e. trying not to be aware of each other), then there would be more energy on stage, a better sense of ensemble, and they would have more successfully directed the audiences focus.

The other choice that absolutely needs clarifying is whether or not the cast are embodying any bird-like characteristics. Two actors chose to do this and it’s not sustained, again contributing to the issue of style consistency and believable creation of the world.

The show is in desperate need of a vocal coach. Some of the cast have a good sense of their text but could go further, while others rush through lines and a lot of sense is lost through the pace, the absence of silence and an inability to really use new thoughts. This is especially evident in the playing of The Wild One, where the characteristics needed for this character often hinder actor Aimee Olivia, instead of help her. This is a shame because it should be the most varied and interesting role, and she has potential.

Disappointing too is the lighting, which isn’t of the quality I’m used to seeing by designer Amber Molloy. There seem to be some technical issues during the night, which may have contributed. Overall the lighting doesn’t support the cast in leading the experience of the audience – especially in the darker moments of the piece. 

It’s fantastic to see a cast of eight women on stage. Each had a moment to shine, but clearer, braver choices needed to be made all round for this piece to reach the tension and release the script suggests. 

The Collector 

The Collector is a naturalistic work exploring social misfit Frederick’s obsession with having the things he wants – especially women. Just like butterflies, entomologist Frederick captures females (in this case Miranda Grey) and makes them his subject. Also like his butterfly collection, the promise of being free is always just a little beyond the glass in front of them. 

This work opens with Frederick carrying a comatose Miranda into a bedroom and observing her from afar as she comes to and vomits. A trapped Miranda spirals into despair and over the next ninety minutes uses every tactic she can to be released.

Unfortunately these tactics exist in the script and are not well supported by Kat Glass’s performance. Her accent is inconsistent, her vocal work very limited and therefore limiting, and she holds so much tension in her shoulders and mouth that her acting becomes restricted to irritating facial expressions, and hardly ever feels connected to the guts of her truth. I don’t doubt she’s feeling it, but she has massive issues being able to translate that to the audience. I yearn for her to be still and let me watch her think (which would require her to process thoughts somewhere other than at the floor), to let her voice drop in and resonate with the despair of her situation, for her to be grounded in her body, and for her to be much cleverer in her choices with Frederick. What is great is that Glass isn’t afraid to be vulnerable. I would love to see her be well supported directorially and vocally to see if the limitations of her performance actually lie with her or if she is indeed capable of a lot more. 

Stephen Lunt’s performance as Frederick is more consistent and interesting, but he arguably has the easier job. He is from the UK, so if his accent wasn’t consistent that would be a serious problem, and he has the luxury of being the character in control the majority of the time. Lunt manages to play the likable sociopath who wins some empathy from the audience (like watching serial killer Dexter Morgan in TV drama Dexter), and I find myself siding with the bad guy. He covers his darker side well through smiles, niceties and insistence on his innocent intentions.

I would’ve like to see his manipulative edge rising to the surface more often so that the tension of the true danger of the situation was more palpable. The reveal of Frederick’s ability to spin on a dime in the face of defeat is rewarding and a decent show of Lunt’s versatility. His vocal work is in need of some support – he flattens out and at times the piece becomes the two actor’s just whinging at each other. 

The set design for this piece really frustrates me, as it is totally inconsistent with how the script describes it – which is problematic when that description is part of the performance. The text emphasises how much money Frederick has, how much effort he’s gone to with Miranda’s room, and how expensive it all was. The single bed with bad linen, a desk and chair, and two wall frames with broken pieces of MDF attached, hardly support that description and every time it’s mentioned I’m pulled out of the world of the play.

The lighting too is again disappointing, with some serious technical errors with cues on opening night, and an overall lack of design. The sound design, other than some volume issues by the operator, is strong.

The transitions between scenes are long-winded, sometimes unnecessary, and don’t make the timeline of the piece at all clear. The Collector has the potential to be a tense, hard hitting and confrontational piece. There are glimpses of it with Luke Thornborough’s direction but the main thing I’m confronted with is that he doesn’t deliver.

I can’t help but leave the theatre annoyed and pained that something that seems to have a good script hasn’t been honoured, and feeling that as young companies putting on this work, more help should have been asked for to do it justice.

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