Pulse

Performed at the Sir John Mills Theatre, this one-man show educated and entertained with a story of Britain's traveller communities.

Sean Buckley plays a gypsy boxer saturated in the memories and legends of his people's ancestry. He begins in his homeland of Kashmir fighting off Turkish soldiers and ends up severed from his land with the loss of his home.

He experiences life as a wanderer, later as a slave, then as a free man. History and mythology merge in the lineage that forms his community's identity.

Buckley's stage-presence is captivating; from the beginning of the play as he sits hunched over, to the end when he stands raised high, arms embracing the heavens.

On the low-lit stage his pale, wiry frame and eyes often have a haunted look. His characterisation and use of accents vividly evoke ancestors from his Romany past.

I really enjoyed the sound design for the piece. It is an element of performance that does not always stand out but in King of the Gypsies music and effects were combined closely with the action.

The bowing of strings that accompanied the swathe of an Indian warrior's sword was particularly effective.

The verbatim recordings that form the basis of the script were played between phases of the action. Created from interviews with gypsies and travellers, they sounded distant and dream-like.

The venue's intimate size helped the sound to envelop both actor and audience. The result was effective but I sometimes wished I could hear the actual words more clearly.

Whilst the play dramatises specific moments in traveller history, it largely focuses on the emotions and feelings of the community. What is it like to have no place to call home? How does it feel to be disliked and persecuted wherever you go?

In the talkback session after the performance it was explained that the writers were reacting to the very negative portrayals of traveller communities in the media.

The play challenges audience perspectives by making familiar the emotions of a community I know very little about. A touching scene that depicted a young Romany man living in Nazi Germany particularly humanised a people that are too often demonised by public prejudices.

Whilst the play was didactic it was also entertaining. The retelling of the Romany's role in the Passion story was humorous and balanced out the play's quite serious and sometimes melancholy tone.

Despite being a 'work in progress', King of the Gypsies was definitely worth seeing.

The well-crafted script and the quality of Buckley's performance made it an impressive and thought-provoking play.
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King of the Gypsies was at the Sir John Mills Theatre on Thursday, 11 June 2009 as part of the Pulse Fringe Festival.

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