Firstly, having never visited this theatre before I was impressed with the layout and design of it. The old style proscenium arch perfectly framed the second delight, which was the well designed set that was to hold the Moby Dick cast. As the audience took their seats the set was visible and began to entice us towards the play. The dimly lit stage revealed an eerie looking ship. The image was underscored with a soundscape of phrases from the script and the music that was to continue throughout the play.
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For me this production was an exhibition of storytelling theatre. For the duration of the show the well known story of Moby Dick unfolded before us, employing a variety of devices to engage and retain our attention. From the very beginning this show impressed the audience with a mixture of the spoken word, song, lighting and sound completed with physical movement sections to tell numerous stories. There was, of course, the main story of the crew's task to hunt and kill Moby Dick at the orders of Captain Ahab who lost his leg to the white whale. And whilst this story was being told many other stories appeared underneath it from the various crew members either to each other or directly to us, the audience. My favourite moment was the opening of the second act. The crew members entered the stage pounding out a terrifying rhythm with large poles of wood. The stylised movement that accompanied the sound revealed that the sailors were killing a whale whilst at sea, and the wooden poles transformed into harpoons as each man struggled to fight against the large mammal and kill it. In my opinion this action, joined with the overwhelming sound, really brought the story to life and broke up the wordiness of the show. If I were to make a criticism of this production of Moby Dick it would be that there could have been more of these moments and fewer of the monologues which were used to tell the story. I found that in sections of too much dialogue my attention wandered. Also the sections which used other techniques really demonstrated what theatre is really all about:Ìý the chance to go beyond words and use everything within reach to express the meaning. | "From the very beginning this show impresses the audience." | | Laura on Compass Theatre's Moby Dick |
The cast was very good with, for me, two actors standing out in particular. The first was Ben Abell who played the character Ishmael. Abell lit up the stage with his performance when he came on. Throughout the show his eyes shone with the character's expression, making for a completely engaging performance. I think that he really embodied the character and put everything into his performance. The second was Daniel Anthony playing Pip, the young cabin boy. Anthony, despite being the youngest of the cast, had a great stage presence that drew the audience towards him. His youth was an advantage for him because he broke up the dynamic of the chorus of older men. The naivety that he brought to the character enhanced his interpretation of the character and made it a more honest performance. I would thoroughly recommend this show to anyone who enjoys a good piece of story-telling theatre as the entire cast do an excellent job of re-telling this old classic. | 
