It’s been a while since my last review post, so I thought I’d share some thoughts on a recent production I’ve been to see – Lego Beach by Inkbloc Ensemble at the Wardrobe Theatre. I missed Lego Beach during it’s original run last year, so I was pleased that I managed to catch this tour. Inkbloc Ensemble’s origins as a Bristol Old Vic Made In Bristol company are unmistakable – they have the dry humour, passion for music and frequent diversions into almost dance-like physicality that seem to now almost be a genre all it’s own (see also The Wardrobe Ensemble for another example of this). Luckily I love this style!
The piece starts with narration, which I know isn’t everyone’s bag, and a beautiful original sea shanty about the fictitious Cornish fishing village of Bevill, our setting for the evening. We are introduced to the key players – an entrepreneurial owner of a caravan park, the ambitious local politician, the owner of the local chippy, the returning student who’s moved away to London during the term and her grandfather, a good old-fashioned Cornish fisherman. Like much or Cornwall, the economy is surviving less on the dwindling fishing stock and more on the seasonal tourists, who are also dwindling following some particularly bad weather. However, this bad weather results in a lost sea cargo of Lego washing up on their beaches, bringing with it flocks of Lego enthusiasts and beachcombers in anoraks. While much of the town is keen to capitalise on this increased tourism, the student and her fisherman grandfather see firsthand the havoc that the Lego is wreaking on the local marine life and are keen to get rid of the plastic. I won’t ruin the big finale of the plot, in case you want to see this piece for yourself.
The stand-out part of the whole production for me is undoubtedly the music, woven seamlessly into the story. The actor-musicians are sometimes in the scene, playing diegetic music, and other times underscore the action, but always impeccable. The primarily accordion and violin pieces fit the rustic seaside feeling perfectly, and the few diversions away from this style (the chippy owners rock ballad or the caravan park owners slightly jazzier piece) suit their respective characters personalities perfectly.
The physicality is also great, my favourites including the ‘Lego’ like movement of the visiting Legoland reps, the mimed sailing and fishing sequences and the dramatic finale. Puppetry is also used to great effect – I loved the shoals of marine life conjured onstage with just bits of plastic. However, the scene transitions included lots of seemingly unnecessary twirling and stacking of boxes – normally just to end up being put exactly where they started. I’m not sure if these clunkier sections were as a result of the reduced playing space at The Wardrobe Theatre (compared to the 1532 where it originally played) – the cast did seem to struggle at several points with the small stage.
My main gripe with the entire piece was the very end – an echo of the original introductory narration. However, on the reprise it was played with what I felt felt was an unnecessary moral – it came across as preachy and a little patronising. The message that plastic is bad for marine life came across perfectly from the preceding scenes, and didn’t need to be restated so bluntly in the final narration. It left a bitter taste in the mouth to leave, which was a shame as the rest of the salty evening was very enjoyable!