This immersive new multimedia play by Lotos Collective is an innovative re-working of
Rime Of The Ancient Mariner and will be performed throughout May at Hoxton Hall, East London’s original music hall.
The show incorporates elements of dance, puppetry, and circus, with live music from Saul Eisenberg’s
The Junk Orchestra and set elements by
Scrap Dragon of
Passing Clouds Community Arts Centre. It is inspired by Samuel T. Coleridge’s aforementioned poem and Lewis’ Carroll’s
The Hunting of The Snark.
The design elements are created with help from local community groups, schools, charities and arts organisations and are built entirely from household recycling, scrap and sustainable materials. The result are absolutely mind-boggling costumes and sets.
This creative recycling process fosters a growing awareness of environmental issues and highlights the challenges faced today.
Trial of The Mariner is a response to the destruction of our oceans and its effect on climate change.
Set in the future (in 2111 more precisely), a motley crew of eight sailors embark on the ‘Ship of Fools’ across the now radioactive oceans. The audience is introduced to skipper Mac, first mate Limey, cabin boy Scurvy Bum, cook Gabe, two scientists Bunson and Beaker, and two other crewmembers called Rott and Snott.
Along their ocean voyage they encounter an enormous storm and become lost at sea. A herald arrives in the form of an albatross and leads the sailors towards an unknown destination. In an act of malice the skipper shoots and kills the albatross and as a result, the sailors remain lost at sea. In a state of complete madness they arrive at the ‘Plastic Continent’ in the North Pacific Ocean vortex. The place is a mixture of radioactive rubbish and organic material that has formed over the years from illegal dumping in the seas. It is here that the sailors encounter the ‘Plastic Creatures’, a mutated combination of beings. During an attempt to capture a creature a war ensues between the two groups. Eventually the sailors are captured and taken to the Judge, where a trial takes place…
Trial Of The Mariner not only is truly original, but also thought provoking due to its eco-awareness message. Performed in the Victorian music hall splendour that is Hoxton Hall, this ‘play in progress’ invites you to actively participate in various forms. It is great and unusual fun for kids and adults alike, however, unless you’re seated at the balcony upstairs you’re in for a standing session. There are deliberately no chairs in the ground floor area so the audience can interact easier with the performers (and vice versa).
Judging from what I’ve seen at the press night, it’s certainly worth going to see the show, best with a group of friends or family. Feel free to dress in nautical attire. The production is clearly a labour of love (and a teamwork of outstanding talent) and deserves to be turned into a travelling show throughout the UK and across the seven seas (radioactive or not)!
Hoxton Hall
130 Hoxton Street
London N1 6SH
Trial Of The Mariner performance times:Saturday 7 May – 7:30pm
Sunday 8 May – 2:00pm (matinee)
Thursday 12 May – 7:30pm
Friday 13 May – 7:30pm
Saturday 14 May – 7:30pm
Sunday 15 May – 2:00pm (matinee)
Thursday 19 May – 7:30pm
Friday 20 May – 7:30pm
Saturday 21 May– 7:30pm
Book tickets online http://trialofthemariner.eventbrite.com/
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