No Mean Company

Red Noses

Written by Peter Barnes

20 & 21 June, 2003

Dark adult comedy set in C14th France, in a country decimated by bubonic plague. Erstwhile career monk, Marcel Flote assembles a troupe of inept clowns to bring hope, satire and a little comic relief to a suffering population, terrorized by zealots, abandoned by a jaded church hierarchy and exploited by cynical profiteers.

This community theatre production features an enormous cast culled from No Mean Company, the Senior Youth Theatre and Ace Productions

Youth Theatre Adds Shine To Red Noses

News & Chronicle Wednesday June 4 2003

Cumbernauld Youth Theatre, assisted by No Mean Company and ACE Theatre, are currently hard at work on their next play, a production of Red Noses by Peter Barnes.

Red Noses combines black comedy, slapstick humour and moving scenes. The setting is 14th century France, devastated by plague. The characters are charicatures of the types of people found during this period, such religious figures and flagellants in a satire which although written in 1978 was popularized in the 1980’s due to its parallels with the AIDS crisis.

The main character is a monk, Marcel Flote (played by Mark McKinley) who organizes a performing troupe in a bid to put smiles on the bubo-riddled faces of plague victims, aiming to make their last moments as cheerful as possible. The group seems to attract performers who bravely persevere despite suffering various ailments – blind jugglers, stammering comedians and one-legged dancers, for instance. Other groups who play major roles in the play include the Flagellants, who believe that by suffering and causing others to suffer they can appease the angry God who is punishing them with the plague, and the Black Ravens, who feel that the world is on the brink of a new social order and aim to infect the rich and powerful with the plague.

Costumes for the play are expected to be of a high quality, loaned from the Lyceum Theatre Company, regarded as on e of the top amateur groups in Scotland.

Unsurprisingly, it is not intended as a show for children despite having a largely youthful cast. Director Terri Jones said: “This show is not for anyone under the age of 14 – young children simply won’t get it. It’s definitely not ‘Carry on the Plague’, but a black comedy/drama with a serious message – a piece of theatre which works on many levels.”

Red Noses will be performed at Cumbernauld Theatre on June 20-21 with performances starting at 7.45. Tickets priced £3.50 each are available from the box Office on (012367) 732887.

The cast will also be appearing in cumbernauld Town Centre on Thursday June 12 to promote the show, taking juggling balls, costumes and leaflets. The main attraction though is a public display of “suffering for art” by lead actor Mark McKinley who will have his head shaved into a tonsure hairstyle (the classic ‘monk’ look).

Preview by Neil McGrory

Infectious delight at Cumbernauld Theatre

News & Chronicle Wednesday June 25 2003

Cumbernauld Senior Youth Theatre, assisted by No Mean Company and Ace Productions, performed Red Noses by Peter Barnes on Friday and Saturday last week.

This play is set in medieval France during a time of plague, when a monk, Flote, organizes a group of performers, known as Floties and easily recognized due to their wearing of red noses, with the goal of bringing a little pleasure to those who have little left to enjoy.

Flote organizes auditions for would be members of his entourage, but finds that he can only attract people who have difficulty earning a living for themselves and are basically in it for food. Therefore, his performers include one-legged dancers, a blind juggler, a comedian with a stammer so severe he would take half an hour to tell a one-liner, a mute who communicates purely through the use of bells (which nonetheless are perfectly understood by hid friends – a little like Lassie’s barking) and a couple of soldiers who are sick of killing. The church has a couple of additional representatives in Flote’s company – specifically a priest who thinks the whole idea is ludicrous and wants to see the Floties disbanded, and a nun who is having t5ouble keeping to her vow of celibacy.

However, there are other factions who have different ideas about the plague.

The Flagellants believe that the epidemic is a result of God’s anger with mankind, and that he can only be appeased by suffering. They therefore set out to encourage as much pain as possible, constantly beating themselves with clubs and encouraging others to do likewise. With their skimpy costumes and metallic faceplates they look a little like extras from the mad max movies.

Also, there are the Black Ravens, who think the plague means the current social order is collapsing and being generous sorts, try to spread the plague into the upper echelons of society. They always wear black and their entrance is usually marked with the call of a raven.

Supporting characters are numerous, such as the few surviving merchants, who believe their respectability and decency has attracted the plague, and the only way to survive is by publicly cavorting with whores, the scheming Pope Clement VI and his cronies, and many more besides.

The News and Chronicle attended the Friday night performance of this play, set in Medieval France during a time of plague, wondering if the cast could achieve what seemed a difficult performance.

All of the cast - dozens of them - appeared to revel in their diverse characters and it seemed that everyone had their own standout scenes to enjoy.

They were helped out by looking the part thanks to excellent costumes loaned by the Lyceum Theatre Company.

On balance the show was a black comedy and there were a great many laughs to be had. One of the funniest moments was the audition for the Floties, and although they all seemed fairly absurd in having chosen professions which were rendered impossible by their ailments, there was a heart warming edge to the scene when Flote chose to hire them all because he was impressed by their sense of hope.

Towards the end of the play the tone altered to become far darker and more dramatic with a lot of major characters being killed off, and yet this was handled in such a way that it remained curiously uplifting.

It was obvious that everyone involved in this play had worked their guts out for it with particular kudos going to Mark McKinley as Flote who went the extra mile to get into character by actually having his head shaved in the Town Centre as part of a display aimed at publicizing the show. However, congratulated for turning in some of the best amateur performances I have seen in Cumbernauld to date.

A sign of their commitment showed when one of the cast was involved an accident during the play, suffering a nasty-looking fall from a raised platform. The cast bravely carried on and finished the show, and the good news for anyone who is still wondering is, not only was the girl unhurt, the cast wanted to do the scene the same way the following night. However, the Theatre insisted on modifying it for safety reasons.

So a hearty congratulations once again to all involved in this production, with one small word of warning – this will be difficult to top!

Review by Neil McGrory