The Onion Bar
(para active)  

“What did the onion juice do?  It did what the world and the sorrows of the world could not do:  It brought forth a round, human tear.  At last they were able to cry again.  To cry properly, without restraint, to cry like mad.” – Gunter Grass

This is the concept brought about by the new and exciting production from Para Active, the company whose previous shows established them as firm favourites with the Tobacco Factory audiences.

Met by Dogush the host of the onion bar, you are given notes of a strange currency, along with a customized Onion Bar handkerchief (…just in case) and then allowed to enter their mysterious and underground world.

 Once inside the barely recognisable theatre space, we were rounded up and placed at various tabletops and counters dotted around; all this taking place after a bizarre group photo…

 Whilst the other members of the audience arrive, you are invited to take in the scene.  Actors floated nonchalantly through the spectators, engaging them in idle chat, or a dance deriving from their native lands, all played out in and around the sparse yet beautifully crafted set.  With sawdust covering the floor, wooden crates and tables surrounding a main central wooden stage, and every audience member standing, it truly felt as if we had entered a wholly different and surreal world.  Once the entire audience were gathered, we were cordially invited to watch as each actor told their story; relating their past in the hope that they might cry and release their innermost sorrow.

Using their bodies in fantastically stylised ways, each story was performed using various techniques, which not only involved the audience emotionally, but physically too.  Throughout the entire evening, various members were pulled to the stage, accused of being liars, groped, told to don party hats and join a game of pass the parcel, cheer and bet on an impromptu arm wrestle, offer medical opinions and generally be drawn in to each of the character’s and the story they had to tell.

 The relatively small cast played their roles to perfection, each staying in character no matter what action they were called upon to perform; even when accompanying a story with vocal harmonies, or stamping a drum beat whilst the story of a woman who drowns her baby reaches its climax, each character could be seen, going a long way to increasing the effectiveness of both physical and emotional attachment.

My personal favourite was that of Michael Neale, who played the part of the slightly backward Pieter.  His portrayal of a small child, endlessly teased for stuttering, hunted relentlessly by his mothers beloved dogs, which eventually caused him to wet himself, much to the delight of the other ‘children’, was so believable and heart wrenching that I found myself truly empathising with his reason and need to cry, here and now in the Onion Bar. 

 I left the Tobacco Factory feeling utterly overwhelmed, as I had never experienced theatre quite like it before.  It is a highly engaging, complex and emotional piece of work combining fantastic technical aspects along with spellbinding performances, culminating in a piece of theatre that will stay with me for a long while; and I urge you to pay a visit to the Onion Bar before it closes for business.

The Tick List 

Set And Lighting

Cast

Story

Overall

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Performance Times

Tues to Fri 8pm
Saturday 6pm & 9pm

Ticket Prices

£10 Full
£7 Conc

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