Set in a recording studio in 1950s Soho, Bunny’s Vendetta is a gorgeously noir-ish piece of black comedy written by Darren Murphy. Part of the George Farquhar Theatre Festival in Derry~Londonderry, this new play is inspired by Farquhar’s own Adventures of Covent Garden, and transplants the bawdy world of Farquhar’s story to an era that is iconic in contemporary pop culture.
On approach to the venue, the characteristically grungy (read: ‘vintaged’) former church and glassworks on Great James’ Street, the night air is filled with the sound of Elvis Presley mingling with the wailing of an injured man on the pavement outside, and the steady flashing blue lights of the attending ambulance. In an uncanny case of life-imitating-art the first sight greeting the audience inside the venue is of a young man, dressed like a 50’s rocker collapsed on the floor. This along with the smoky set, sharp lighting of red and deep shadows leads to a strangely hallucinatory atmosphere on entering the performance space.
The audience sits on opposite sides of labyrinthine staging, with long flowing walkways and a spacious mock-up of a live room and studio control booth in the centre, framed beautifully by the lines and imposing pillars of The Glassworks’ own architecture. Designed in New York by Rachel Hauck, and built in Derry by Kate Guinness and Todd Gfeller, the set is immediately eye-catching and straight away sets expectations very high.
The play begins with our unconscious friend in the middle of the stage being woken by the studio’s German engineer to be told of the events of the night before. The story focuses on this character, Johnny Blade (Charlie Archer) - an amnesiac songwriter, who, now horribly hungover, must piece together the memories of the previous night to rediscover the (now-forgotten) greatest song he has ever written.
Throughout the show, the cast perform various songs – a collection of gritty bluesy numbers written by Frankie McGinty, that punctuate various stages of the tale. Gerard McDermott in particular puts in a stellar performance as the ghoulish and overbearing Bunny – music publisher and owner of the studio that the action takes place in. Bunny progressively transforms from cold businessman to unhinged voodoo blues singer, which McDermott adeptly and sometimes frighteningly plays out on stage. His is one of the stronger character arcs of the piece, which is helped by his effective musical performances.
Johnny’s veritable partner in crime and occasional antagonist is Emilia (Jessica Symonds), who throughout the first half of the play seems simply to be playing Johnny for her own ends, but whose own fate ends up enmeshed with his. As the only female part in the play, the role comes across much of the time as cartoonishly bitchy, and lacks (for a great deal of the story) enough pathos and depth for the audience to empathise with her. This perhaps could be ascribed to the noir-tribute feel of the whole play, as typically this genre casts the female lead as a Janus-faced sexual manipulator with difficult-to-grasp motives. Sympathy for the character however eventually does develop, thanks in large-part to Symonds’ exceptional vocal performance in the latter stages of the play. Singing comes across as her stronger suit, and indeed the stronger suit of many of the performers, with most struggling to balance the two disciplines as well as McDermott (Bunny).
Caitriona McLaughlin’s direction on the whole seemed to echo the beatnik culture in London of the 1950s, with the physicality of performers in particular portraying the amplified stereotypes of violence, sex and larger-than-life deeds. The rhythm and pace of the first half was less satisfying than the second, which was more like a captivating, fly-on-the-wall observation of a chaotic musical/creative process. The stakes felt as if they were raised in this latter half, with more at play for the characters and more to engage with in their stories.
The performance in summary was a gratifying experience, with the staging and overall aesthetic creating a memorable impression that’s matched by the music and much of the writing. A satisfying conclusion to the Blue Eagle Farquhar Theatre Festival.
Chris McAlinden is a filmmaker based in Derry/Londonderry. He holds a First Class BA (Hons) degree in Theatre and a Masters Degree in Film.