Hostile theatre review: Evocative and clever
This inventive solo show mines humour from the familiar tropes of the Wild West
A mixture of table-top theatre, clownish mime and puppetry, Hostile takes the tropes of an old-school Western and spreads them across an hour of quirky theatrical fun that, despite a gunfight in a saloon, is suitable for all of the family. Olivier Rannou is the single performer, and he slowly builds the action as his set expands around him. Beginning with minimal staging as he sits at a table, he quickly establishes the languid, heated atmosphere of the desert through visual trickery before slowly heading into town for the final showdown. The evocative lighting and music lend the performance a theatricality that transcends the restraints of a solo show, and Rannou’s mastery of material manipulation provides the comedy and the clear, lineal narrative.
The restraint, however, limits the humour, since it is based in recognition of the skill of the production’s creation and the imaginative use of apparently unpromising scenery and props. At times, it is visually spectacular without being ostentatious: it stands more as a demonstration of the stage’s potential than a fully immersive emotional or comic experience. Perhaps more tasteful and clever than hilarious, Hostile has a wry wit and a way with object manipulation that gently undermines the heroic western archetypes.
Hostile, Church Hill Theatre, 11 August, 2pm; picture: Jess Shurte.