Bull

Bull, a play by Mike Bartlett, is a dark, fast-paced play set in an office where three colleagues await a redundancy decision. As tensions rise, two turn brutally on the third, exposing the ruthless side of workplace competition and power. Nantwich Players took on this play with Bethany Gail as director, obviously having a clear vision for the production. Every silence, every movement, every costume – all completely thought through.

The play only has a cast of 4 characters, all of whom have their own distinct personalities. It was clear that the cast and director had all put a lot of thought and effort into bringing these characters to life. The relationships between them were clearly established from the start and maintained throughout, with perfect timing between dialogue. Some scenes called for fast paced lines and constant interjection, while others slowed down and brought intentional awkwardness into the room. These were all completely mastered by the cast.

There was very minimal set for this production, which worked perfectly. A few red chairs, and a couple of small tables were all that were used. This helped to bring the attention to the actors and their words. The backdrop was completely black, which ordinarily would not make one think of an office setting, however the cast were able to suitably set the scene from the provided set, their personas and their dialogue.

One of the most impressive parts of this production was the attention to detail in every possible way. While the room was completely black, there were touches of red included in the set and the costumes. Red socks, a necklace, lining inside a jacket, lipstick, nail varnish and even a pocket square – not forgetting the soles of Isobel’s shoes. These little touches really helped to pull everything together and tying in with the name of the play. Alongside this was a continuous strip light around the perimeter of the stage. This gave the illusion of being in a bull fighting ring and was set to omit red light throughout. I must give acknowledgement to Bethany Gail (director), Sandie Laughlin (stage manager), Luke Murphy (technical manager), Janet Clarke (costumes) and the rest of the team who helped to pull this together.

In the role of Thomas was Ben Callas. Ben gave a stellar performance throughout, playing the desperation of the role very well. Being knocked down with words but also showing this in his mannerisms as the story progressed, becoming more frantic and downtrodden the more his colleagues were bullying him.

Sarah Shillito took on the role of Isobel and she was an absolute powerhouse. The way that Sarah played on the nastiness of the character while also turning herself into the victim was a pleasure to watch, and really got the audience to feel all sorts of emotions for and against her. Sarah commanded the stage with her presence and the way she held herself, which was very fitting for the character. This was a brilliant performance.

Alongside Sarah as Isobel, was Ali Somers in the role of Tony. The comedy timing that Ali brought to the stage was brilliant, and he delivered some hilarious moments – which later would make the audience feel guilty for laughing at.

Sarah and Ali worked very well as a team, bouncing off each other while pulling down the character of Thomas with their horrendous comments and treatment of him. The dialogue within the show very often switches between topics very quickly, something which Sarah and Ali managed to find the perfect balance for without it becoming disjointed. There was a clear divide between the pair and Ben, both through the way they spoke to one another and also in their stances. Ben was more slouched in stature most of the time, while Sarah and Ali stood tall, maintaining dominance and power over him.

And not forgetting a great performance from Chris Finney as Carter. Chris’ accent throughout was flawless and I was extremely impressed by this. His tone of voice was suited perfectly to the character and was maintained for the duration of the show, showing how the boss was also just as bad of a bully towards Thomas but in a very different way. This contrasted brilliantly with the constant sniping and teasing that came from Isobel and Tony.

The casting of this show was excellent, with all actors committing to and playing their roles perfectly. The 4 of them worked extremely well together, keeping the pace of the show flowing, even during long silences. They were all a pleasure to watch!

One scene in particular which stuck with me was the “bull fight”. The use of a jacket with red lining (which was previously hidden) was very effective. The setting of the whole scene along with the physicality from Sarah and Ben was outstanding and really brought a new angle to the teasing that had been happening previously only with words. I also found the lighting design brilliant in the scene where Ben ends up alone with the bottle – a very subtle and slow fade down to a spotlight on him just brought everything to a wrap really well. I’m not sure if the slow encroaching darkness gave the illusion of the red strip lights intensifying or if they were actually slowly changed, but either way this was a stunning choice!

This was an all-round excellent production and was very well cast. Well done to all involved! Thank you to Nantwich Players for the invite to the show and I wish them the best of luck with their upcoming production of Accidental Death of an Anarchist, to be performed in May at the Players Theatre, Nantwich.

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