THE TRENCH by Les Enfants Terribles - Friday 5th October 2018 at The Redgrave Theatre

‘Theatre which cuts deep and doesn’t heal until long after the curtain has gone down’ - Fest

 Last Friday I had the pleasure of watching Les Enfants Terribles most recent touring performance The Trench at the Redgrave Theatre in Clifton. With the play only showing for a single night, my friend and I swiped up some tickets as soon as we heard about the production. 

Les Enfants Terribles is known for their unique theatre style; an eclectic mix of drama, live music, puppetry and innovative uses of a versatile stage space and props. Founded in 2001 by Oliver Lansley, the company has gone from strength to strength, traveling the world and spanning genres from children’s theatre (they have a children’s branch, Les Petits Theatre Company), immersive horror, comedy, drama and educational pieces in collaboration with various museums and galleries. Their most famous production so far, Alice’s Adventures Underground was performed in The Vaults, hidden beneath Waterloo station, a dynamic piece nominated for an Olivier Award. 

The Trench is set in World War One and follows the true story of a depressed miner, Bert, whose tunnel collapses, trapping him alone in the darkness with only his thoughts to accompany him. What follows is a frightening quest for freedom, where hallucinations synthesise with reality as Bert battles imaginary creatures that are terrifying projections of his own inner demons. 

The production was an entirely distinctive ensemble piece, incorporating puppets made from the scraps of war that could be both comedic and disturbing. The cast provided a naturalistic and touching yet intensely physical performance alongside the multifaceted, ever-changing set. Each of the actors could play one or more instrument, with all backing music being performed live on stage, whilst one actor sang original, moving music at the side of the stage to accompany Bert’s mostly silent, or purely narrated, journey. Sound effects were produced using human voice or items from the fragmented set, with some instruments concealed within the relics of war, such as an accordion being played vertically from within a discarded trunk on the floor. The only additions to the piece were occasional lighting effects, although the majority of the stage was enveloped by darkness. 

The piece was experimental yet succeeded in being extremely moving, receiving a standing ovation at its close. The Trench served as an example of the public role of the humanities and arts as it combined dynamic theatre with the historic horrors of the First World War. It delved into the deepest corners of the human mind and used the at first seemingly infantile use of puppets to depict the psychological breakdown of a formerly sturdy individual. The theatre creates an atmosphere for all areas of history, the human experience and joyful through to despairing pieces of fiction and truth to be explored. Although the theatre is not accessible to all members of the public, as the movement continues to grow, smaller theatres emerge with cheaper, or in fact free, productions whilst other practitioners establish theatre to engage and inform people from all walks of life - whether that be those with physical or mental disabilities or providing theatre as a form of rehabilitation therapy in prisons. Les Enfants Terribles is known for the accessibility of their public events, working in the past with the V&A and the British Library, in order to bring the theatre into the public domain. 

Theatre provokes such an emotional response that seeing a production can be a truly transformative experience. It is such a wide-ranging art form that it can be created for purely leisurely reasons or to use to the stage to discuss current political issues and leave audiences questioning the societies that surround them. The Trench was yet another exceptional piece which left the viewers stirred, excited and informed in reaction. I would highly recommend catching the production at another of its tour locations or finding another entirely unparalleled show by Les Enfants Terribles to watch