BRoadway Baby
★★★★

Swaying on a stalk between pastiche and parody, Bloody Ballad roots itself in homage to the idealised South.

This endearing switchblade romance, told in retrospect through honky-tonk and sweet nothings murmured between Mary and the mysterious drifter, Connor, is a slice of 50s Americana with a blackened heart. Swaying on a stalk between pastiche and parody, Bloody Ballad roots itself in homage to the idealised South – in soda pop, bouffants and gas pumps, so neatly rendered you can almost feel the dust and magnolia clogging your nostrils while Hank Sr fills your ears with his jangling guitar.

Lucy Rivers’ fresh-faced, wide-grinned eagerness is catching; she channels Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn – a gas station owner’s daughter trying and spectacularly failing to stamp out her macabre, Carrie-like urges. Two parts sunshine to one part venom, there’s a whole lotta creepy going on. There is another star turn which comes out of the swampland blinking and spitting fire – to be saved, of course, for your own viewing pleasure.

The cast is as adept with physicality as they are with their various instruments, seguing between backing band The Missing Fingers to providing an atmospheric soundtrack to the cheerfully menacing narrative. Rivers’ original songs are stitched into the story like poodles on a skirt – you’ll be hard-pressed to keep yourself still through the blackly comedic What My Daddy Done and People Who Is Evil Gotta Die (laughs aplenty while playing fast and loose with grammar, folks). It’s a show that’s handy at adapting to spare spaces – it looks sharp, retro and stylish. It doesn’t have to try too hard to be liked. And it deserves all the word-of-mouth success it currently enjoys.

The only legitimate gripes I can muster concern the bagginess of Connor’s trousers (would Elvis have left that much to the imagination?) and the inevitable ropiness of the Southern accent to which I seem to be acutely attuned. But it’s not much, not for this welcome addition to the gorecore renaissance – the surreal, gruesome humour of True Blood with the doe-eyed sweetness of True Romance – Bloody Ballad is sweet as pecan pie. Just keep one eye (or finger) out for the razor lurking within.

Broadway Baby – Amy Holtz, from Brighton Fringe 2014

BUZZ MAGAZINE
★★★★

Set in a 1950s mid-west American town, The Bloody Ballad follows the story of Mary (played by Lucy Rivers) as she embarks on a dangerous love affair. The production follows the deadly outcome and features the brilliant Missing Fingers rockabilly/rock’n’roll/Americana band of which Lucy is the lead singer. A cast of five, Tom Cottle, Hannah McPake, Dan Messore and Oliver Wood and a relatively sparse set conjure the most brilliant, dark and immersive piece of theatre I’ve seen for a long time. David Lynch merged with Nick Cave in a dark alley on crack, set to rocking live performance.

Written by Lucy, the disturbing and dark lyrics give an authentic feel and set the tone of a dusty outback town where not a lot happens. The bizarre relationship Mary and ‘a stranger’ embark upon is the core of the story as is her isolated and damaged relationship with her father. The outcome is both funny and horrific. Lucy has created a piece of theatre which if you get the chance to see you really should. Embrace the vibe and get the Brylcreem, prom dress and knife on standby!

Buzz Magazine – Antonia LeVay

THE ARTS DESK
★★★★

“As good an original score as you’re likely to hear… entertainment, pure but not so simple!”
Gary Raymond

THE PUBLIC REVIEWS
★★★★★

“This feels like a cult classic of the future!”

THrEe weeks
★★★★★

“Think ‘Grease’ meets ‘Scream’ in this chilling tale of murder, arson and betrayal.”
Rebecca Lunn

THe big issue
★★★★★

“It’s a heady mix, and provided you’ve a stomach strong enough – it’s utterly unmissable. Unique and excellent … If Johnny Cash and Nick Cave had written Heathers, they might have come up with something similar.”
Laura Kelly

THe Quotidiant times
★★★★★

“Raucous, riotous and totally debauched ‘The Bloody Ballad’ is Bloody Brilliant!”

THe edinburgh reporter
★★★★★

“This thrilling journey of romance and murder is exceptionally well-told.”
George Ward

Supported by Arts Council of Wales and Theatr Iolo
Photography by Kirsten McTernan