Liverpool Sound & Vision Rating: * * * * *
Cast: David Cumming, Natasha Hodgson, Oliver Jones, Zoe Roberts.
Kill The Beast Theatre Company have only been on the scene for a mere three years, but are already proving their worth as one of the best inventive new theatre companies around. Their latest show is packed full of grotesque, over the top characters based on Tom Baker’s children’s book The Boy Who Kicked Pigs. Written in 1999, Baker’s truly grotesque story still has a strong following today and is as popular as ever.
13-year-old Robert Caligari is a nasty piece of work. He gets his kicks from kicking pigs, and Robert comes to realize just how much he loathes the human race, and his revenge is truly terrible. However, today is the day when he gets his comeuppance, because today is the day he’s going to die.
It is possible to see the layers that have been added to this show. It clearly begins with Bakers wonderful story and the adaptation of page to stage, all done by the performers themselves with director Clem Garritty whose idea it was to do the piece; and the wonderful characters themselves that are so incredibly visual in the book do truly come alive on stage, with costume and make up being such a crucial key and designed so brilliantly by Nina Scott and Rachel Owen. At the back of the stage is a huge projection screen that sets the different scenes, which means that there are no lengthy scene or costume changes.
Each actor takes on more than one role, with David Cumming as Robert Caligari and Natasha Hodgson as his sister Nerys. Both play these characters with the same gusto and horridness as Baker originally penned, as indeed do all the actors who take on a plethora of characters. From start to finish, this is a very fast paced show with a tight script and is pulled together by four wonderfully talented performers and writers along with an impressive creative team.
The Boy Who Kicked Pigs is a delightfully dark, and tremendously funny story telling that has produced unforgettable macabre and perfectly horrid characters. This is a show that will be talked about for a very long time.
Janie Phillips.