The Boat Shed. Photo by Bike Shed Theatre

I finally made my way down to the Boat Shed this week to have a little look around, and to watch a piece my lovely friend Rosa Day-Jones has been working on entitled Pub Talks: A Pint-Sized Conversation. Produced by Kill The Cat Theatre Company, the Bike Shed's graduate company of 2016, the piece aimed to open up the conversation about depression to those who may not have suffered from a mental illness themselves - but who have a desire to understand it better.


Upon entering the space - after helping myself to a cocktail from the outdoor caravan, of course - I was greeted by Rosa, who enthusiastically handed me a blank slip of pastel pink paper and asked me to write down three happy things that had happened to me that day. "They can be really tiny things, like a good sandwich!", she told me, before bouncing along to the next awaiting audience member. I sat on one of the wooden picnic-style benches that was dotted around the foyer-area of the venue, beside the indoor bar, and wrote three things.

1. I felt like my interview went well.
2. Full English breakfast.
3. Catching up on last night's Love Island.

As instructed, I placed my slip into the awaiting pint glass on my way into the theatre space, where I was immediately greeted by another friend from drama and cast member, Toby Grace, who asked me if I wanted some crisps before swiftly throwing me a packet of Walkers prawn cocktail. The cast of four chatted away to the audience and each other as they handed out crisps, ushered people in and bustled their way around the set, which to begin with was made up of an awful lot of tangled string, stretching its way across the performance space and creating a miniature maze for the cast to navigate.

While the original intention of the company was to perform the piece in a pub (which they had done prior to this pop-up event), the team did a fantastic job of replicating that same atmosphere. The intention to perform in a pub - and, indeed, the title of the show itself - stemmed from a desire to create a chilled and chatty atmosphere, but also one where people felt free to debate and discuss. This motive skilfully created a tone for the evening that relaxed the audience, therefore allowing them to become fully involved in the conversation.


And become involved we did. The type of theatre I love most is that which truly engages with its audience, making them think and inviting them to be involved in that which the ensemble are exploring. What made this piece special was that the four cast members each shared their own personal stories and feelings towards mental illness, enabling the audience to feel more connected with the material, and relate their own experiences to it. What was also impressive was how much research the cast had clearly put into the piece, sharing not only information about what a mental illness may feel like, but also the ways in which society reacts to it, even bringing the piece fully up to date by referencing the DUP.

While, of course, the material covered was upsetting at points, the cast did a fantastic job at keeping the piece upbeat. Interspersing more emotional, stripped-back 'monologues' (though I hesitate to call them that, because this cast and their words were completely natural) with physical theatre routines, audience interaction (I got to play a card trick!) and music, there was never a dull moment. The piece ran at just over an hour, but I could have very happily sat for much longer than that.

Although Pub Talks only ran for two nights at the Exeter Boat Shed, the quartet have big plans to tour the piece, and hope to perform in schools and community centres in order to spread their message far and wide. Follow them via the hashtag PubTalks on Twitter, or catch up with the group on Facebook at Kill The Cat Theatre Company.

Photos by Harry Neal.