JOIN USThe HandleBards, a theatre group from the UK, have arrived in the city and are basking in Bengaluru's “hot weather, a pleasant change after months of riding and performing in the rain”.
The company, which boasts three four-member troupes — two all-male and one all-female — is known for turning Shakespeare on the head. And its members carry themselves and their sets on their bicycles. The six-month-old team of Paul Hilliar, Matt Maltby, Liam Mansfield and Stanton Plummer-Cambridge is here to perform the comedy ‘Much Ado About Nothing’.
While an older HandleBards team brought ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to the city early this year, this is the first time in India — actually, the southern hemisphere, chips in troupe manager Oliver Jaques — for this group.
“I love the food,” says Paul. “But I wouldn't like to cycle around here.” And laughter erupts. But he and Oliver are the only two who had some cycling experience, prior to signing up with the HandleBards. “But I used to cycle to get around London, and London is flat,” says the actor. Nothing had prepared him for the literally uphill task he and his teammates would face, lugging between 40 and 50 kilos, cycling miles together.
Except, perhaps, the auditions. “The first session was a 40-minute run,” says Matt, taking up the thread. “And when we came back, they said do a workout, and another and another. And another. Then came a two-hour acting audition.” The five have had some adventures along the way. “Once, in 45 miles, we had four punctures,” chips in Stanton. And Oliver turned mechanic. But they've never been late to a show.
Each team typically tours with two Shakespearean plays: one comedy and one tragedy with a comic touch (‘Richard III’, this time). So how is it different working on each of these?
“In the comedies, Shakespeare has already made it funny for you,” Matt explains. “In a tragedy, we pick out the silliest or weirdest bits and flip them around.” Most of their humour stems from their use of props, movement and physicality, Stanton adds.
Does this lend an irreverent touch to the work of a playwright who has been treated with too much caution? “Yes, and I believe that's how his plays were intended to be,” replies Liam, while Stanton adds that during the Bard’s time, the audience whistled at the dialogues more than they listened to them.
“We’re one end of the spectrum,” admits Matt. “But even otherwise, jokes originally penned by Shakespeare in his serious plays are often lost to the audience during shows these days.” Their approach, Paul adds, makes theatre accessible — “I’ve seen a five-year-old laughing with an eighty-year-old.”
The HandleBards will stage ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ at Shoonya on September 21 and 24, The Humming Tree on September 22 and Alliance Francaise on September 23.