Butter Side Up Theatre Company’s Thestival 2026 (Night Three) – 31 October 2026, Lantern Theatre
Review by Artisan Friendly.
As the nights are drawing in and an autumnal chill is in the air, we hit Halloween, which also happens to coincide with the final night of the annual Thestival Festival. Thestival brings together a whole gamut of performance and dramatic scenarios. Across three evenings, Thestival 2026 celebrates original storytelling through four one act plays alongside a showcase of monologues, duologues, scenes, across comedy, drama and music. Run by Butter Side Up Theatre Company, it aims to create a welcoming space for anyone who loves theatre and wants to tell a story that’s uniquely their own.
The company seems to have grown in size and to be a solid team of dedicated individuals working towards the same goal. They also appear very passionate about what they are doing, which is infectious! The Lantern is an excellent choice of venue too especially for tonight as it has a bit of a spooky vibe. In keeping with Halloween celebrations, tonight offers two separate halves. The first half is a one act play ‘A Strange Case for Living’, a fresh retelling of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde told through a queer lens. The second part is a series of 13 different performance pieces taking in their signature comedy, drama and music and on the theme of ‘Horror’.
Introduced by the tick of a clock, ’A Strange Case for Living’ made great use of sound effects throughout and of voiceovers for forwarding the narrative and giving a sense of time passing. There was a very effective moment the first time Henry Jekyll convulsed into Mr Hyde to a heart beating and a ‘cracking up’ sound effect. It also worked really well to have Mr Hyde appear from behind a table creating a bit of
theatre magic. But this was a story where both Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde coexisted and were darkly obsessed with each other. At first Mr Hyde existed in the background, reminding us of the duality of the characters then, as the play developed, there were direct confrontations between the two and also a passionate kiss.
This retelling of the story was well written and directed by Sophie Knowles. Christy Fitzsimmons as Hyde shone. He put in a maniacal, brooding performance using vocal tone and movement to excellent effect. He really caught the torture of the character well. Connor Varley as Jekyll also worked together with Christy well; keeping the intensity of the relationship alive whilst exploring the key themes of
identity, grief, repression and transformation. There was a good, balanced to and fro as the two characters battled it out and Connor embraced the inner turmoil of Jekyll. There was also a humorous cameo from Tom Turner as Theodore Savage which the audience particularly enjoyed and some great support work from Kyle Baker who projected well throughout, Georgia Deith, Alison Brelsford, Rob Place, Jamie Wainwright and Daniel Higgins.
Lighting was used effectively with short bursts of intensity and at one point, candles. The set and costumes were in keeping with the piece and the set changes were fast and efficient. I really enjoyed this version of the story, being inventive, contemporary and creative. The audience were really behind it every step of the way being both warm and receptive, even when there were a few technical hitches.
The second half of the night was a total contrast. Directed by Amy Longbottom, Daniel O’Key and Jamie Wainwright and with choreography by Ellie Madeira, ‘Horror’ involved various short dramatic pieces and songs. It was thoroughly enjoyable providing something for everyone. Kicking off with ‘Dead Set’, a Big Brother parody which highlighted what might happen when BB becomes possessed. It involved some great characterisations and tidy blocking. ‘Austin Powers’ was very well received by the audience. They loved Mr Evil especially as his delivery caused a great amount of mirth. There was also some excellent writing in this piece. ‘Zodiac’, in contrast, was very chilling. I remember the murder scene from the film and how disturbing it was and it was just as upsetting re-enacted tonight. Hannah Wade further broadened the range by delivering the song ‘Meant To Be Yours’ next. It was quite a feat to follow such a horrific scene and she excelled.
‘The Real Villains’ was a classic piece of writing, which had a surreal Monty Python feel to it. It involved classic horror monsters, Dracula, Freddie, Michael, Ghostface and Pennywise auditioning to be the absolute villain only to be pipped to the post by Donald Trump. The audience lapped it up! Indeed the Trump impression was spot on and there was some great character (Dracula) and ensemble work. The audience were also behind the next piece – ‘Say My Name’, a song from Beetlejuice, whooping and cheering along to it. It had lots of energy, fun choreography and neat American accents.
‘That’s a Bad Idea’ once again contrasted previous pieces and involved a father, a priest and a son, tied to a chair – was he possessed? ‘Dead Mom’ was about having just that – a dead mother and the emotions involved. I’ve not heard of this song before and it was delivered beautifully, again by Hannah. Becky Cleary- Holland shone in ‘Fred The Skeleton’ which was quirky, fun and surreal. Also, Fred is a true star – I hope he features in future productions! Followed by the song, ‘Wait For Me’ – another new one to me – there was more variation as the harmonies of the group worked really nicely together. ‘Woman In Black’ provided a nicely chilling extract for Halloween with some great performances from Daniel Higgins and David Barton. Spooky! The penultimate piece was ‘Vicky McClure’ which unravelled the ‘whodunnit’ story in voiceover. Alison Brelsford as the mother of a dead son particularly stood out for her solid performance.
The final piece of the evening was another song – ‘Friends on the Other Side’. It involved 11 of the cast members and was a great way to round up the evening. It was silly and fun and good to see everyone working together so well. The set changes between the performances were swift and kept the production nice and pacey. The costumes were also on point, particularly in ‘The Real Villains’ where just the sight of Michael provided a lot of humour.
Having seen a number of productions in the last three months tonight proved that with a great selection of songs and magical mix of drama, how talent, dedication and hard work can make for great, affordable and uplifting entertainment.
