Theatre Review: The Scuttlers at the Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester
Wils Wilson’s production of The Scuttlers maybe billed as a Victorian drama but it resonates with many modern day themes
It’s portrayed as a story bassed around Manchester’s first street gangs, yet it’s a drama that explores themes that could be from any time frame over the last two hundred years.
The opening scene of workers in a dark mill drawing cotton from a huge loom are the traditional symbols of industrial Manchester’s past, but add a soundtrack of electro beats and it become a very stylised fusion of old and new.
Its a play that resonates with modern day references and the street gang culture of the time is no different to today’s modern equivalent. The gang in this story are known as the ‘Bengal Street Tigers’, a group of disenfranchised souls, who are ‘bonded’ together by the ‘street’ they live on. It sounds like a familiar tale already, and the opening scenes draw out these relationships and the timeless scenarios that have brought the disparate group together. Much is made of the importance of this bond, and as now, the sense of belonging this connection gives them. It’s an ideal that would be shared by many gang members today.
The dysfunctional family, poverty, homelessness and being an outsider, are all social themes addressed by the play. And the young cast do a fine job pulling the threads of the story lines together
Their is swagger to the acting. The males all have the bravado of a young Liam Gallagher. The girls are bold and Leary and would be perfectly at home as characters from that other slice of Manchester underclass TV’s ‘Shameless’ Each one emboldened by their own personal tragedies. It’s only that the play was prefaced with its timeline, that you can distinguish its storyline from modern Manchester. This is a play though of a time, is a timeless tale.
The theatre itself echoes the plays arc of history, It’s a fine eighteenth century building. But within its lays a modern performance area. Its stage is at the centre of a tight, in the round space, within a stark industrial setting. The contrast of heritage and modernity, echo’s the themes of the play where the old and the new collide, yet exist together.
Some may be hoping that this production will be an extension of the TV series ‘the Peaky Blinders’. Although it follows a similar themes and is very stylised, this a far more socially aware affair, This is a play that is more authentic in its content And although it has a large cast works very well within the confines of the space. But credit to the production crew for conjuring up some theatre magic to add to this very enjoyable presentation
The dark mills that once dominated Manchester’s skyline may be gone but the underclass is still there. The play leaves you asking the question has anything changed over the last two hundred years. Or is it just a case of history repeating. Whilst the pointless task of drawing threads, goes on. – Highly recommended
Read the full review at CultNoise magazine
@cultnoisemag: Theatre Review: The Scuttlers @rxtheatre #Scuttlers #Theatre http://t.co/5oxvM4fiAB
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