WASTED
SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE
SEPTEMBER 2018
SET & COSTUME DESIGN
BOOK & LYRICS | CARL MILLER
MUSIC | CHRISTOPHER ASH
DIRECTOR | ADAM LENSON
MUSICAL DIRECTOR | JOE BUNKER
MOVEMENT DIRECTOR | NATASHA HARRISON
SOUND DESIGN | MIKE THACKER
LIGHTING DESIGN | MATT DAW & SAM WADDINGTON
ASSOCIATE DESIGNER | RACHAEL RYAN
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR | GRACE TAYLOR
ASSOCIATE MOVEMENT | CHRISTINA FULCHER
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR | ELLIE COOTE
PRODUCTION MANAGER | NED LAY
PRODUCERS | OLI SONES & SALLY WOOD
PRODUCTION PHOTOGRAPHY | HELEN MAYBANKS
These Brontës wear mid-1800s garb but when they let rip musically, it's to punk, emo, progressive rock, thrash metal, even ska, spirituals and country and western, belted into omnipresent hand-held mics while roving spotlights dazzle onlookers.
Joe Bunker's terrific band are as much part of the show as Libby Todd's starkly striking set or Matt Daw and Sam Waddington's exciting lighting.
WHATS ON STAGE
The lives of the Brontë sisters were far from rock’n’roll. Charlotte, Emily and Anne did not live fast or love hard, even if they did die young (through ill health). Those biographical facts have not stopped the makers of Wasted from reincarnating them as eyeliner-wearing metal-heads with plenty of Romantic spirit. Dressed in 19th-century governess dresses, they headbang their life stories to a live rock band, and at times camp up their tragedies.
THE GUARDIAN
‘Wasted’ is infused with Rock n’ Roll which is the perfect fit with the underlying themes it carries. The stage is a small, raised set of wooden slats into which the characters plug wired microphones which later, cleverly, become props. Writing desks are instrument carry cases, an amplification system becomes the pet dog, and the sisters are seen erratically showering the stage with sheet music which represent the pages of their books. Libby Todd’s authentic 19th Century garb is joined in a satisfying oxymoronic marriage with contemporary hairstyles and chipped nail varnish. The design as a whole has, at times, an essence of Spring Awakening to it and, with the characters interacting and head banging with the band (Kat Bax, Isabel Torres, Nathan Gregory and Joe Bunker) it almost feels as if you are at a rock concert.
BRITISH THEATRE