By Jennifer Beasley.
Ahoy me matey and blow the ship Vivisectress down into the deep, dark, waters. Mind yonder pirates, Bagfoot and Saucy Jack, trapped upon the gallon, do not deceive ye! For they are bonkers, mad and terrified of Pantomime and ventriloquism.
Let’s get the easy part out of the way first, shall we?
Bladderwrack is a seaweed, and in this instance, also the name of one of the most bizarre yet cleverest plays I’ve seen this year. Having been conceived as a short story, as part of an anthology by author Adam Browne’s Phantasmagoriana, Brown, with co-writer, fellow director, and thespian David Tredinnick, have re-imagined every single rule of writing and theatre. Then broken it and reshaped it into a wacky but soulful play.
Running at sharp 60 minutes at the well named Explosives Factory, this will definitely blow your mind.
Now, for the hard part. What’s it about?
For those of you familiar with the absurdist comedy of the British radio The Goon Show, which aired in the 1950’s, there will be a jangle of delight and a quick chuckle as remembrances of Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe mixed ludicrous plots, striking sound effects and surreal humour in a ground breaking format that has influenced countless generations of comedians from Monty Python, Mr Bean and probably every one since.
This has influenced renown author Adam Browne as well, who has penned over 30 novels from science fiction to other speculative fiction treats, and teamed up with David Tredinnick (The Secret Life Of Us) to bring this thoroughly enjoyable ode to what I like to think of as the grandchild of The Goonies.
In terms of a storyline, it’s more like a tangled web of seaweed as our protagonists appear as two BBC radio presenters dressed in tuxedo’s and with their radio scripts on stands. All very stiff upper lip and,’ Tally Ho, dearest, let’s get the foxes out’, as Sheridan Anguish (Tredinnick) and Peregrine Scattergood (a great performance from Oscar Munro who can certainly match the colossal talents of Tredinnick) fluff about with jocular humour until they transition into the story of two pirates, Bagfoot (Munro) and Saucy Jack (Tredinnick). Both performers continue with the setup of the scripts upon the reading stands as they launch into word play and metaphors that had me writing in my notebook, what is this about?
However, as they say, there is sense in madness. The eternally malapropism adjusted Bagfoot examines the theme, so cleverly hidden, with a garbled foray on trees as a metaphor of women. Saucy Jack, hearing the constant voice of a woman, pulls him up on this, until he understands his meaning. Probably the only time reality interjects into these two pirates’ lives, trapped as they are in the bowels of the gallon, Vivisectress, for an unknown age, and surviving on the strange fish they manage to capture in the murky depths.
Then we hear the Baritone of the figurehead of the Vivisectress singing, a marvellous turn by Samuel Thomas-Holland, who has performed as a Baritone soloist in Mozart Requiem with the Victoria Chorale. Simply breathtaking and yet the operatic element certainly felt right and led a gravity to this play that makes you take note that this isn’t all pirate jokes and hook hands.
With a reoccurring motif of a fear of Pantomime and ventriloquism as the ultimate punishment (no objection here), and some funny and smart advertising selling the book of the play at the box office, the story proceeds to link the trees, the sails and the ropes of the vessel through monologues by pirate journalist Saltpetre Cragshank (Tredinnick enjoying himself hugely and channelling every dramatic role of Shakespeare-ever!) and ultimately the ship herself. The ship, as the woman, scorned and out for revenge.
With puppets, opera and plenty of humour you might be forgiven to think this is, as Saucy Jack announces, is a load of gibberish. Yet writers, particularly great ones of Browne’s calibre, will always infuse a story with a dramatic scope that makes sense.
Brilliant puppetry design by Julian Chappell and Emma Jevons, and whatever you were drinking to make you think of these creations I’m steering clear of. Maybe.
The costumes were superb. The right amount of dapper and desperate, Katerina Petrotos nailed the thematic aspect of a fall from grace – from tuxedo well-to-do Brits to shabby nefarious pirates and their punishment.
A patient Harriet Turner-Browne should also be thanked for holding the sign that notes, “The longest f*rt ever” and the accompanying sound effects. (Way too long and perhaps look at shortening this section).
Overall, I had a jolly good time. Loving the mayhem, the absurdity, and most of all, being better than The Goon Show.
Now, crack open the rum me-hearties, and get ye butts over to see it. Aye, aye!
Bladderwrack plays at The Explosives Factory at 7:30pm until the 15th November, 2025.
Image: Steven Mitchell Wright
