If you are anything like me then the words ‘physical theatre’ will strike fear into your heart. To me the words conjure up over-eager, drama students, keen to impress, running around after too many Starbucks coffees. So it was with some trepidation that I sought out Ugly Bucket Theatre and was pleased to be knocked out by their innovative work.

On the podcast this week Caitlin and I meet with the inspiring Rachel Smart and Grace Gallagher from the group. Their journey began when they left drama studies at Liverpool John Moores University and discovered, like many before them, that West End production companies were not banging the door down offering them roles. There is a melancholy ‘come down’ for many drama post graduates who often struggle to find a place to practice their talents.

Rachel and Grace together with a small band of fellow travellers decided to take matters into their own hands and create their own company that would use the energy of physical theatre to challenge taboos whilst sparking conversations. Their performances are brash, fast-paced, often outrageous and always unsophisticated (or so they would have us believe). They deliver clowning workshops and have released aliens on unsuspecting streets.

During the podcast it struck me that what Ugly Bucket are doing is similar to what the abstract movement did in the art world. They have something very powerful to say but they blind side audiences by their methods.

Last year the company devised Good Grief which arose from the death, and request, of a well-loved mentor. Bravely, they turned to their unique style of clowning, music and physical comedy to create a show that explores grief.  For the project they worked with Care Merseyside, collecting first-hand accounts from grieving people to build an experience that is honest and provocative.

For Ugly Bucket, Good Grief is their ‘coming of age’ show which stakes their claim as a powerful, irresistible force in physical theatre. The show will tour later in the year as the shackles on performance are loosened. Look out world.

Words by Bob Towers
Images by Andrew Smith and Ugly Bucket Theatre