Piatto Finale - Superbolt Theatre

The Petersham Playhouse
29th April 2012



In 2011 Superbolt Theatre arrived on the scene with a bang with their debut performance Centralia; a wonderfully strange, beautifully told story of the last four remaining inhabitants of Centralia a ghost town destroyed by a mine fire. Superbolt’s highly physical, hugely energetic style made for excellent viewing and their follow up production of Piatto Finale, now showing at the Petersham Playhouse, has taken this signature style to new levels of the sublime and the ridiculous. This international company are an absolute joy watch and watch them you immediately should!

Housed in one of the most surreal performance spaces in London, the private playhouse (or exceptionally grand wendy house!) in the stunning Petersham Nurseries is a gem of a space. Surrounded by rolling hills, country estates and cows this intimate little performance space nestled in the grounds of the manor gives the feeling of a bygone era and the big smoke of London could not feel further away. Superbolt have a real knack for seeking out these unusual performance sites that are not just an appealing aesthetic but a defining characteristic of their work.

Piatto Finale explores the reoccurring theme of space, as the story pivots around an opera house in Moscow. The three protagonists; Douglas the new conductor, Cleo the lead actress and undercover British spy and Nikodim the son of the busty Opera House Madam set about solving the mystery of the missing Piatto Finale, a piece of music composed by some of the worlds greatest minds lost in a mysterious fire. However there is a murderer afoot, putting a stop to anyone who gets close to sniffing out the truth.

This story is one of twists and turns, as the often nonsensical murder-mystery-music-hunt unfolds. The three actors take on a multitude of eccentric characters, each more ridiculous than the last, showcasing their talent for characterisation and their effortless comic ability. Fun oozes from this production in every step but what is paramount to the success of Piatto Finale is its intelligence and Maria Askew, Frode Gjerløw and Simon Maeder’s exceptional gift for story telling. Seldom has a story been as baffling as it is gripping, the audience may be lost but never once do they disengage with the action on stage.

This company indulge in silliness; which in itself is a brave performance trait, but a style they have mastered. Gjerlow and Maeder are the perfect comedy duo, from their spoons-morse-code sequence, to their Spanish waiters and Russian dancers; their physical take on slapstick comedy evokes fits of genuine belly laughs from the audience, with Askew providing the perfect contrast with her striking elegance and ability to transform from one character to the next. Again it was an exchange between Gjerløw as the suave B-Flat and the seductress Askew as Cleopatra that created another round of hysterics, in their surreal take on erotica and one of those stand out ‘you just have to see it’ moments.

As an ensemble Superbolt are a flash of something special; their performance style is unique and unashamedly fun, yet there is also a sense of nostalgia that emanates from their stories alongside issues of identity and belonging. Yes, they are a fledging company with still a long way to grow and develop, but this is a company with heart. This is intelligent theatre in a hilarious guise and I only hope that Piatto finale is not the last we will see of this exciting bunch.