The Stage

Site-specific show to bring Theatre Royal Haymarket back to its roots

Published Tuesday 9 February 2010 at 15:30 by Matthew Hemley

Unseen and overlooked backstage areas at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in the West End are to provide the setting for a new site-specific performance at the venue later this month.

The production, called La Fille a la Mode, will feature circus performers, dancers and actors, all of whom are involved as part of the venue’s Masterclass programme, which provides opportunities for people aged 17 to 30 to learn about all aspects of the theatre from industry professionals.

It is being led by physical theatre company Dante or Die and will be created in just four days, making use of corridors and otherwise unseen areas of the theatre.

Associate director of Dante or Die, Terry O’Donovan, explained that the performance would be a promenade piece that draws its inspiration from the theatre’s first production, La Fille a la Mode, in 1720.

He said very little is known about the production, except that it was illegal - because the venue was then unlicensed - and included burlesque performers.

“It’s a really exciting piece. The spaces we are going to use are beautiful - you will see a cloakroom in a completely different way and you will see corridors you would not otherwise have seen. We are going back to the roots of the illegality of this theatre, when it first opened, and the naughtiness of the fact it was not supposed to be happening.” he said.

O’Donovan said the production will look at It girls who have performed at the theatre, from Lillie Langtry in the late 19th-century to Anna Friel in last year’s production of Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

He also said the show, which will be 20 minutes long and run on February 26 at 12pm, 1.30pm and 3pm, will have interactive elements.