Tutu much

Director Emma Rice was surprised when she saw her production of The Bacchae previewed during the season launch at West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds.

The sight of a band of bare-chested men dressed in tutus, playing musical instruments, and having a very good time on stage was a bit of a shock - and not only to those in the audience.

"I'm immune to the fact that it's a load of blokes in tutus," says Rice. Although responsible for the look, she'd become used to the odd sight during rehearsals and took it for granted.

Purists may view this as a long way removed from the Greek tragedy on which The Bacchae is based. Followers of Kneehigh Theatre will not be surprised, though, as the company regularly mixes dance, music and text with gleeful abandon.

This new touring show follows The Wooden Frock, Cry Wolf!, The Red Shoes and Pandora's Box (which was produced in association with Newcastle's Northern Stage). Euripides's classic The Bacchae has a chorus of women - played by the tutu-wearing males - falling under the lusty influence of Dionysus, the original good time god of dance, wine and revelry, with bloody results.

Rice has wanted "to work on a Greek", as she puts it, for some time because the traditional Greek chorus is ideal for an ensemble company like Kneehigh. "It's such a brilliant story but, having worked on it, it's a political story that's so relevant," she says.

She came to the production, as she usually does, with a strong idea of the world she wanted to create. "I knew all the Bacchae had to be men and all in tutus, with everything flying about the Gods and in the air."

A week's "burst of work" at Kneehigh's Cornwall base in May gave the company the basis for the piece. "We go into rehearsal with a palate of materials, but never a script. There are words, but they're not firm. With music and dance and everything so you have to hold your nerve," says Rice.

The company includes several newcomers to Kneehigh. "We tend to work on instinct. We kind of know if someone is right when we meet people," she says.

A Kneehigh performer needs to be generous, flexible and have a spirit of anarchy, she feels. "What doesn't go down well is much neurosis or any ego. It's not a neurotic group of actors."

Since setting up in 1980, Kneehigh has established a country-wide reputation for innovative theatre, without feeling the need to be based in London. "We're a group of people who've chosen not to be on a career ladder, not to go to the next ad or job, who've chosen to work with people on the outskirts. We love being outsiders," she says.

Rice is trying "to give up" performing and concentrate on directing. But, in a small company, she can often squeeze herself into a cast at no extra cost as she's already being paid to direct.

"Because I was an actor for so long, when I started directing I was quite nervous about giving up. But I love directing. I will try and separate the two. I find it quite hard to direct myself," she says.

The production is billed as being "for adults and brave children only (recommended age 12-plus)" and may contain scenes of partial nudity. Rice hints they may be going further and have full nudity because that's the way the show is evolving. "It's got to be done," she says.

She makes no apologies, pointing out there's no swearing in the production although the story is quite disturbing. "This is what theatre is for - look at this, feel this. It's a safe environment where you can look at some of the darkest sides of life," she explains.

Younger audiences may be more resilient than older theatregoers if her experience of The Red Shoes is anything to go by. In one scene, the dancer had her feet cut off, an act that was suggested rather than explicitly depicted. "No children were ever upset, although two adults fainted," she recalls.

* The Bacchae opens at West Yorkshire Playhouse tomorrow and runs until October 16. Tickets 0113-213 770.

Published: 23/09/2004