Viva Brighton Issue #70 December 2018

THEATRE
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The Animals and Children
Took to the Streets
Like nothing you’ve seen before
Jo Crowley, of celebrated
theatre company 1927,
tells us about the return
of their landmark show
that takes audiences into a
sprawling, stinking world
of curtain-twitchers,
peeping toms and a wolf
forever at the door…
The show opened in
2010 to huge critical acclaim and toured the
world for four years; why did you decide to
revive it? Demand, really. We kept receiving
invitations to take it to different venues but we
just didn’t have time. Then we got some funding
which has meant we can tour this as well as
continuing to work on a new show. But it feels
just as relevant now as it did back then.
Its themes of social inequality and rebellion
proved prescient just before the London
riots of 2011; did you have a sense of
tapping into a mood? It wasn’t intentional but
you can’t ignore what’s going on in the world
around you. The show was largely made in a
warehouse space in East London where you’d
have kids mucking around outside at all times of
the day because they didn’t really have anything
else to do, and we couldn’t help but wonder
why that was. As a company, we think we have
a responsibility to create work that reflects the
world around us.
Who are 1927? The company started in 2005
and is, primarily, a collaboration between an
animator and illustrator (Paul Barritt) and
a theatre maker (Suzanne Andrade). When
performer Esme Appleton joined, she suggested
they merge animation and live performance –
and that’s really where everything began. I was
brought in as producer
after their first show,
The Devil and The Deep
Blue Sea, opened in
2008. I was impressed
by their talent and
vision. There was a
real freshness to their
approach.
Reviewers have
compared your work to Berlin cabaret,
silent movies, artist Otto Dix and illustrator
Edward Gorey; what do you consider to
be your biggest influences? We’re magpies,
stealing things from all over the place and
influenced by various visual aesthetics, and it
changes depending on what we’re interested
in at a particular moment in time. It’s not
necessarily a conscious thing. When we look
back on a piece, you can see a particular
influence but it feeds in organically. We’re more
analogue than people realise. Because Paul is an
illustrator everything begins with his pen and
ink illustrations. It’s all quite handmade.
What can audiences expect from a 1927
show? Our work seems to resonate visually
because of Paul’s amazing animations and aurally
with the live music. Our themes tend to be
universal – rebellion; uprising; social divides – so
whether we’re presenting in the Middle East
or the Southern Hemisphere everyone can take
something from it. There’s a playfulness that
runs throughout; we like humour. But really,
all people can expect is the unexpected. In
28 countries, the thing most people say after
watching our work is: “Oh my God, that was like
nothing I’ve ever seen before.” Nione Meakin
The Old Market, Dec 19th – Jan 12th
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