Scarlet Harlets was a women's theatre company based in London in the 1980s; it later changed its name to Scarlet Theatre. The company created physical theatre productions through a process of collaboration between the actors, the scriptwriter or translator, and the director.
History
Scarlet Harlets was established in 1981, by Susan Paxton and Tessa Crockett.
Shelley Graham joined in 1982 on Crockett's suggestion and Gaia Shaw joined as artistic designer and puppeteer.
[ Chris Bowler later worked with the Scarlet Harlets as a director.
Scarlet Harlets operated as a collective of five members at most, working together intensively for months of rehearsal. The result, in the case of ''Toe on the Line'' at least, was "a show in which the bonding of the three actors to one another was extended into an intimate relationship with the audience".]Auguste Rodin
François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...
's sculpture ''Celle qui fut la belle Heaulmière'') was the company's debut production in May 1982.[ The show examined parallels between the witch trials in the Middle Ages and the treatment of women in modern ]psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
s.[ The production subsequently toured to several countries including Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Czechoslovakia.][ On the back of this show the company received funding from the ]Greater London Council
The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...
.[
]
Productions
Subsequent shows included ''Out of Bounds'' in 1982/3,[ ''Broken Circle'' in 1984,][ ''Toe on the Line'' in 1985,][ ''80 Days Soul'' in 1986,][ ''Appetite of the Heart'' in 1987,]Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...
. The reason for this was described by Lizbeth Goodman and Jane de Gay as "to break out of the ghetto of lower-funded 'women's work'".[, also citing '']The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' of 5 April 1997. ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' commented that while "women's companies have all but faded from the scene ... 'Princess Sharon''is a genuine departure: this time there are men on stage too."[ The newspaper suggested that this might encourage the Arts Council to fund such theatre companies rather better.]
Rehearsal process
The Scarlet Harlets collective evolved into Scarlet Theatre. The actress Kate Eaton records that she translated the Cuban playwright Virgilio Piñera
Virgilio Piñera Llera (Cárdenas, Cuba, August 4, 1912 – Havana, October 18, 1979) was a Cuban author, playwright, poet, short story writer, essayist and translator. His most notorious works are the poem ''La isla en peso'' (1943), the collecti ...
's 1957 ''The Wedding'' (Spanish: ''La Boda'') for Scarlet Theatre in 2003, collaborating with the actors and the artistic director Grainne Byrne, and enjoying "the actors' ability to literally think on their feet".[
]
Reception
Telory Williamson reviewed Scarlet Theatre's 1996 adaptation, ''The Sisters'' of Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
's '' The Three Sisters'' for '' Theatre Journal''. She described the director Katarzyna Deszcz's project of integrating the "actors, design, lights, music, and text as equal players in the stage space"[ She praised Deszcz for combining excellent "physical theatre and psychological subject matter, employing both abstract gestures and a keen sense of physical clowning."][ Equally, she admired the production's "simple and clever reference to Chekhovian stagnation" through repetition of lines, mirroring the characters trapped in their unchanging domestic setting.][
Maddy Costa, reviewing Scarlet Theatre's ''Love and Other Fairy Tales'' for ''The Guardian'' at the Edinburgh Festival of 2001, described it as "a magical piece, a playful, witty take on the Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale that brings out all of Chaucer's modernity and bawdy humour."][ The '']Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'' commented that while the production was at one level just "a delightful exercise in bawdiness and medieval caricature",[ The reviewer enjoyed the comedy on offer, and admired the tight theatrical pace of the directors Grainne Byrne and Katarzyna Deszcz.][
]
References
{{reflist
External links
Scarlet Theatre website
Theatre companies in London
1981 establishments in England
Feminist theatre