Deconstructing classics:
Introducing the National Theatre of Earth-Prime
Ludicrous superheroics. Soft toy mayhem. In-joke crammed rip-offs of mainstream successes. Not very alternative, is it? Not very small press? Wrong. Every culture has its sacred cows, and slaughtering them is the job of the alternative fringe; and that's the National Theatre of Earth Prime.
Founded in 1991 to rip apart main man Alan Moore's vicious novel Watchmen, the Theatre succeeded brilliantly in conveying the savage cynicism of the original without losing sight of their own uniquely irreverent voice. With the help of a table, a swimming hat and the Alan Jeffrey memorial wig (also starring in this year's performance) the two men who are the Theatre -- Mark Boyes and Jason Stevens -- caught the very essence of the original. Penny Heal's brilliant performance as the large tentacled thing which trashes New York also impressed, and started what would be a series of top cameos.
But they needed more. A wider audience. A more serious text to work from. Maybe some sequins. CAPTION93 saw Robin Lives with Bruce and Alfred, a creative re-interpretation of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, which nonetheless was very faithful to the original story. Baron Winter's House Party followed, giving the definitive sub-text for the American Gothic story line in Swamp Thing. It also introduced the big green bucket, also making an appearance this year.
In 1995 the Theatre expanded its ranks and became The Reduced Sandman company, which brought us all of Neil Gaiman's Sandman -- minus The Wake, to avoid too much dozing. 'It lost its purity, with the introduction of so many characters,' said Mark Boyes, 'And then there was The Invisibles, and things got very strange.' A Theatre 'B' list production, this bloated and decadent take on Grant Morrison's super-hip series featured rampant baldness, scrumpy snakebite smart-drinks and a chorus of bloodthirsty mutant badgers.
But this year's CAPTION sees a leaner, fitter Theatre of Earth Prime confidently preparing to take on master of revenge and gothiness, The Crow, with only a stuffed duck and a big coat to help them. We can't wait. So, what next for the Theatre? A version of Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics? 'We always say that we're going to do Luther Arkwright next,' says Mark Boyes, 'But then, we've been threatening that for years.'