Oct 20, 2024

I went to the Northcott Theatre in Exeter this weekend, to see the world premiere of a play called The Commotion Time. It’s set in Poundstock in North Cornwall in my favourite Tudor period, and although the action of the play takes place in the hamlet, there is a strong influence from Exeter as the administrative centre for the region.

“It’s February 1547, soon after the death of Henry VIII. On the Cornwall/Devon border, the people of Poundstock are looking forward to completing their biggest ever community project: the Gildhouse, a state-of-the-art building for brewing, fundraising and feasting. But there are dangerous clouds on the horizon as the authorities in Exeter force through an array of reforms set to drive division into the heart of the community.

As bellies empty, society fractures and the Gildhouse’s key is taken away, the people take action in the only way left to them; marching to Exeter in their thousands to challenge the king and finally be heard.”

Quote taken from the Northcott Theatre website.

The production featured seven professional actors, and a massive cast of local amateurs.

The professionals were excellent, and the local cast also performed well, making all the right moves and mutterings as and when required, but it was their singing that really stood out – uplifting and beautiful. The story was well told, and generally easy to follow, although I would have preferred if the writer hadn’t tried to be so accurate to the language of the day. It’s a point I have made myself in other posts – if you try to be too accurate in historical language, it can make the listener (or in my case, the reader) sometimes struggle to understand what is being said. Here, the consistent use of the word ‘us’ instead of ‘we’ became a tad irksome (although I did spot some uses of ‘we’ creeping in occasionally – I couldn’t decide if it was deliberate or an oversight…)

Apart from the occasional anachronistic costume faux-pas, I really enjoyed being immersed in the Tudor world for a few hours. One of the main themes of the piece was the upheaval for the ordinary people caused by the religious changes from Catholic to Protestant – also something I have blogged about. It’s hard to underestimate how disruptive it must have been for them, and the play brought this out well. No wonder they marched on Exeter, in a (doomed) attempt to reverse the changes.