Punters at the Bierkeller are more known for copious beer consumption rather than contemplating new drama, yet the Bristol nightclub is now Bristol’s newest theatre. The stage is in one corner, while in another is a punching machine. And steins are still for sale at the bar, perhaps the only theatre in the country where this is the interval offering rather than family-size packets of Maltesers.
There are in fact two punch bag machines permanently located in the Bierkeller, the kind of machines where after a few beers you challenge your mates to see who can best channel Mohammed Ali.
The machines are an intriguing juxtaposition, as on stage, separated from much of the club by black drapes, is a group of women at a refuge, most of who have fled from violent husbands.
Rescue Me, written and directed by Jared Morgan, is a brave play for the Bierkeller Theatre to host as the first production of its inaugural season. It is performed by the all-women cast of Far Out Man Theatre, who confront some serious issues as two new residents with mysterious pasts arrive at the refuge.
There is genuine hatred between some of the troubled residents, and the bickering and sniping are some of Rescue Me’s best moments.
Jasmine Smart plays a character who had a child with her former music teacher. Her story is one of the most intriguing of the lot and Smart is convincing as a gullible young girl and then a distraught mother as the story reaches its breakneck conclusion.
The problem is that there is far too much going on, from troubling back stories being all too rapidly blurted out rather than fully explored, a concluding scene more suited to next week’s Slapstick Festival than what has preceded it, and an unsatisfactory and frustratingly abrupt ending.
Bristol’s newest theatre is yet to find its feet, but in this debut season the Bierkeller will be transformed into a host of settings including the belly of a whale for Moby Dick. No stein has ever been consumed in there before. There is plenty to look forward to with interest.
Rescue Me is at the Bierkeller Theatre until January 26. Click here for more information.
