9.29°C An experimental performance piece, equally influenced by Shakespeare and Serge Gainsbourg, arrives at the Mercury Theatre next week.
The Beginning forms part of a trilogy by award-winning writer and performance maker Michael Pinchbeck. Using Shakespearean texts as a starting point, the piece explores his evolving relationship with theatre.
Pinchbeck explains:
“I started the trilogy with The End, in which I promised never to perform again. At the time, it felt like the final show I needed to make after touring for 15 years. But the success of that piece prompted me to create The Beginning. If The End was a resignation letter to theatre, The Beginning is a love letter to it.”
He adds that prior knowledge of the trilogy is not required:
“It doesn’t matter if you have seen The End or not – The Beginning stands completely alone.”
In the performance, Pinchbeck communicates solely through a video camera that films him writing on index cards, with the words projected live onto a screen. He is joined by performers Nicki Hobday and Ollie Smith, who revisit a love story from A Midsummer Night’s Dream while also drawing on Serge Gainsbourg’s Histoire de Melody Nelson, which charts the musician’s relationship with English actress Jane Birkin.
“The Beginning explores theatrical entrances and the idea of a play within a play,” says Pinchbeck. “It’s about where we are now and where we were when we first performed. It remembers how it felt to wait in the wings before stepping onstage for the first time. It reflects on how it feels to perform in front of an audience.”
The trio have all previously appeared in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and revisit those performances within the piece, layering past and present experiences. The work considers the beginnings of relationships, careers and shows, and asks how and why we step into the spotlight.
Total Theatre described the production as “subtly performed and cleverly created theatre in absentia”, while The Culture Vulture called it an “ode to theatre itself”.
The Beginning runs at the Mercury Theatre from Tuesday 9 April to Thursday 11 April. Tickets are £12.50, with concessions at £10. For details, call 01206 573948 or visit the Mercury Theatre website.
