• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
  • Contact us
  • Guest Content
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Elevenses
  • Business
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Property
  • JOBS
  • All
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Sport
    • Tech/Auto
    • Lifestyle
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Set For Life
      • Thunderball
      • EuroMillions
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Entertainment Arts

Theatre review: These Trees Are Made of Blood, the Arcola Theatre

Reviewing theatre in the summer is a fool’s game. Unless you’re in Edinburgh, or anywhere outside with your head in a bucket of Pimms, you’re an idiot. The notable exception this year is These Trees Are Made of Blood, a cabaret set in Argentina currently showing at the Arcola Theatre; fortunately the show perfectly suits […]

EJ Stedman by EJ Stedman
2017-06-21 14:48
in Arts, Entertainment
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Reviewing theatre in the summer is a fool’s game. Unless you’re in Edinburgh, or anywhere outside with your head in a bucket of Pimms, you’re an idiot. The notable exception this year is These Trees Are Made of Blood, a cabaret set in Argentina currently showing at the Arcola Theatre; fortunately the show perfectly suits the muggy, still heat of an unventilated brick building in the middle of a heat wave.

It is dark, loud and hot. Half naked men and women sit at small tables around a raised stage, fanning themselves with programmes, tickets, and in one optimist’s case, a plastic cup. The stage is empty, spare a sign overhead with sporadically lit light bulbs that reads Coup Coup. A corseted, fish-netted man in pasties and a moustache cavorts up and down the stairs by the audience, and on a raised platform to the side of the stage a band plays enthusiastic Latin music. The show has begun before we’ve even realised.

These Trees Are Made of Blood tells the story of Argentina’s Dirty War, which was waged by the state on its citizens from 1976 to 1983. During that time, between 15,00 – 30,000 people disappeared at the hands of their government, accused of insurgency, communism, and intension to commit terrorism.

So obviously it’s an ideal subject for a fun night of cabaret. The show’s creators – Amy Draper, Darren Clark and Paul Jenkins – must have balls of steel, or at the very least, pewter kahunas. For all intents and purposes, we start off with a cabaret. There’s a band, there’s an MC, there are magicians, singers, and there’s a male burlesque dancer. But the MC is a high-ranking General, the magician is a Sub Lieutenant, and the burlesque dancer is a Wing Commander.

But that doesn’t really matter! There’s only a hint of funny dictatorship with minor comedic references to military genocide! LOL! But as we barrel through the first act with songs such as The Coup Coup Club, The Father of the Nation and the ludicrously catchy Empanadas it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems. By the interval the room has descended into an uneasy tension.

Rob Castell as our MC and the General is excruciatingly horrid. He is funny, charming and utterly, uncompromisingly vile – and therefore excellent. His ability to make otherwise un-violent audience members want to punch him in the throat is commendable.  Ellen O’Grady plays Gloria, a mother looking for her disappeared daughter, with subtlety as well as power. The live music gives the show at first a Latin party atmosphere, which descends into a discordant, disruptive energy by the end of the show. Anne-Marie Piazza in particular is a phenomenal singer, managing to be first brash and then delicate, and everything in between.

These Trees Are Made of Blood is an epic show, one that shows why – in the age of video content, live streaming and 3D film – theatre is still relevant. The music is live and loud, the audience is involved, engaged and amused, but it still captures the realism of true stories and honest portrayals. These Trees bridges the void between farcical satire and honest, emotional storytelling. It leaves you questioning how you didn’t even know these atrocities happened, but also whistling along to Empanadas on the bus home, and wondering where you might be able to buy electric blue feather fans for your next strip tease. It’s Pinochet Chic, darling.

RelatedPosts

Married At First Sight are looking for desperate London singles to apply for new series

New Stephen King thriller adaptation is like Stranger Things meets Severance

Netflix has added one of the best blockbusters of recent years

Alan Partridge is back with hilarious new series

Latest Theatre: 

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/entertainment/theatre-review-my-world-has-exploded-a-little-bit-the-ovalhouse/24/05/

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/entertainment/theatre-review-anatomy-of-a-suicide-royal-court/12/06/

Please login to join discussion

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Commercial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

© The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE thelondoneconomic.com - All Rights Reserved. Privacy

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Lottery Results
    • Lotto
    • Set For Life
    • Thunderball
    • EuroMillions
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE thelondoneconomic.com - All Rights Reserved. Privacy

← Protesters march in peace as Fleet Street unleashes a day of rage ← Book Review: Joyride to Jupiter by Nuala O’Connor
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Lottery Results
    • Lotto
    • Set For Life
    • Thunderball
    • EuroMillions
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE thelondoneconomic.com - All Rights Reserved. Privacy

-->