Co Arts editor Barney Evison caught up with Brixton-based physical theatre man David Ralfe, currently directing ‘The Flying Roast Goose’ at the Blue Elephant Theatre in Camberwell.
David Ralfe is a local actor and director who practices an unusual type of theatre. He trained at the acclaimed Jacques Lecoq physical theatre school in Paris, where the approach is very physical, playful and dynamic, avoiding more “text-based” or “naturalistic” styles, as David puts it.
David’s current project ‘The Flying Roast Goose’ at the nearby Blue Elephant Theatre is a good example of how his work strays from the confines of traditional theatre. He’s collaborating with Paula Siu, who wrote and conceived the play and also studied a similar style of theatre in the UK.
Although there is speaking in the show, the text of the play is not the most important part. “I think the word play can make people think of a huge amount of talking or something that comes from a playwright,” says David, “our approach is a lot more organic. What [Paula and I] bring is a really energetic style of performance.”
The play follows a Cantonese chef and her pet goose in Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation of the 1940s. It uses physical theatre, puppetry and object manipulation to tell their story. “Some people strongly associate puppetry with children’s theatre, but in fact puppetry has a very rich heritage beyond that,” says David. “In most other countries outside Britain there is no assumption that puppets are for children.”
‘The Flying Roast Goose’ also addresses a chapter of colonial history that not many audiences in the UK are familiar with. “Paula and I agreed that there wasn’t really a shortage of World War Two stories about evil Nazis in Europe whereas we’re touching on something that people might not know loads about. Although the primary purpose of play is to provide a satisfying theatrical experience rather than an educational one, we’d be delighted if people went away more curious than they arrived about that part of the world”. Paula Siu and her company Out of Chaos are dedicated to telling stories inspired by East Asia, particularly China.
The cross-cultural element is also particularly suited to the Lecoq style of theatre. The schools where it’s taught have very international student bases, with a huge mixture of nationalities. “It’s really interesting making theatre in an environment where language isn’t the main way in which you’re telling a story,” says David, “You get very used to having to find a common ground between different cultures. If you’re too culture-specific most of the class aren’t going to understand.”
David has worked at the Blue Elephant Theatre several times before and feels very much at home there. The first show he put on after leaving drama school, ‘Machines for Living’, was commissioned by the Blue Elephant in May 2012. “It’s a really important theatre in London,” he asserts. “There aren’t many fringe theatres in London with a dedicated artistic director who actually programmes a season and makes sure that the whole of the season fits together coherently. I’ve always found the Blue Elephant theatre to be a really exciting hub for new emerging companies.”
Is there anything that David would like to see change in London’s rich theatre landscape? “I would like to see a greater diversity of theatre styles on stage sin major British theatres. I would like to see audiences given the opportunity to see different styles of theatre. I feel that audiences are a bit more adventurous than programmers given them credit for” he says.
‘The Flying Roast Goose’ runs at the Blue Elephant Theatre from 3rd to 21st June and tickets are £12 (£10 concessions). You can book tickets by calling the box office on 020 7701 0100.
