For more information on Rude Mechanicals and Macbyrd please

Every summer we are privileged to have the Rude
Mechanical Theatre Company visit our village during
their packed tour of the South - this year it is on
Saturday 16th July on the recreation ground – as usual
with the 'doors' opening at 6pm for picnics followed by
the play at 7:30
It's 1940 in the sleepy
Sussex village of
Jevington. George, a
retired mechanic,
cheerfully tends his
vegetables (for the war
effort) when his wife, Lil,
comes out with a cup of
tea, a piece of delicious
upside-down cake, and…
a letter from The War
Office. "What's this?" he
says. "What's this?".
Above in a cotton wool
sky, bombers set out
across the channel. But
clouds are menacing,
bubbling up like ink blots above the Downs. Magpies gather,
hopping in a circle on their twiggy legs. "What's this?" they
cackle. "What's this?" And then, with clattering wings, they
seem to screech, "Peck out his eyes! Peck out his eyes!" But it's
not to George they croak. A raven, black, and sleek as silk,
lands nearby on a branch, head held high and wings
outstretched, bouncing like a tight-rope walker.
The magpies lower their bodies subserviently. "Your time has
come, Macbyrd," they croak. "Listen to the wind!"
Amidst the cabbages, broccoli and comic absurdity, a dark and
menacing intrigue simmers as a power struggle breaks out
amongst the birds.
"Macbyrd" is a brand new play from The Rudes, and is a
comedy thriller. Sixteen of the characters are birds! Don't miss
Inspector Seed, a pigeon, as the detective! It is set in 1940 and
is about the changes to a small village in rural Sussex,
Jevington, brought about by the threat of invasion, it's impact
on the local WI, the cricket club, the village play, and on
relationships - and on how with the war people must take on
new roles. There are two stories which link together.
Up above there is a power struggle among the birds and the
swan, symbol of a certain kind of traditional Englishness and
social structure, is murdered by the upstart raven, Macbyrd,
who resents the swan's snobbish disregard for the poor, the
sparrows. Pete Talbot, the writer and director, says, "There are,
it has to be admitted, a few echoes of a certain Shakespeare
play. Macbyrd is told by the 'gypsy magpies' that his time has
come, that 'sleek birds, black against the sky' will rule. In fact
change to the village is because a momentous event is going to
happen – and I'm not going to tell you what!"
Prejudice amongst the 'oomans puts the death of the swan
down to gypsies and among the birds to a foreigner, a rare
Indian bushlark which has been swept in by storms. Here's the
serious bit. In the same way that Hitler represented a threat to
our values, so too in people's perceptions do other things
today. How do we deal with these 'threats' and what indeed do
our values really consist of and how should we adapt in the face
of change? Inevitably base instincts like prejudice surface. In
this cauldron of change the play explores the values of
ordinariness (the heroism of living an 'ordinary' life as part of a
community), leadership, love and adaptivity that remain
constants in difficult times. The comedy is partly in the
absurdity of the birds' world, but also – and it is a comedy of
manners – in the ways of "country folk". So there's a bit of
Foyle's War about it and a bit of "The Archers" – plus quite a bit
of The Rudes, too.
The doors open at 6:00pm for picnics (bring your rugs and
chairs) the show starts at 7:30pm
Tickets for our 55 date tour including some great new
venues are on sale via the website now!
TICKETS : For block purchase of tickets please go to the
website.
Tickets on sale at The Cross Stores from 13th June : Adult
(18+) £15 ,Senior (60+ and retired) £14, Student £12, Child
(4-17) £8 and Family (2A+2C) £38
Reviews of 'The Rudes' :
Commedia dell'arte – the tradition that gave us Mr Punch and
the foundations of pantomime – is a rare discipline, even in
Italy. But the Rudes have made it their own
- Jenny Gilbert, The Independent.
It's a pleasure to see a company so expertly making good 21st
century theatre firmly based in an old art form which is such an
important strand in the history of our industry
- The Stage Magazine.
See You