The English Civil War and a Brighton council estate might seem like unlikely bedfellows for a new comedy play coming to Reading’s South Street next week, but they are, and they fuse together in a suprising way.
Victoria Melody is the star and creator of Trouble, Struggle, Bubble and Squeak, a comedic show directed by Mark Thomas. It blends storytelling with stand-up comedy, allowing the past and the present to collide and highlighting the importance of communities in our lives – both nearly 400 years ago and in the harsh reality of the 21st century.
“It’s set in the present day, but it’s a parable about the past and how we are losing touch with it,” Victoria explains. “It’s about capturing those really important stories, but there is an everydayness to it.”
Its genesis lies in a life-changing moment for Victoria: her divorce. There is something to know about the artist: she says she is also an anthropologist who enjoys immersing herself in her communities.
“I have always come across these different groups by accident, and I leave myself very open to spontaneous chance encounters because it leads me on this incredible artistic journey,” she explains, adding that her adventures have seen her become a pigeon fancier, a Northern Soul dancer, a beauty queen, a championship dog show handler, a skipper, and a funeral director.
That’s quite the CV for anyone, let alone a talented performer.
“I’ll just come across a group, get this rush of excitement and think this is it,” she says of her ability to muck in, learn the ropes and embed herself with … well, any group that catches her eye.
She will immerse herself in its world for four years, to understand it, build friendships, and lay the groundwork for a show. And to do that, Victoria admits that she has to be passionate about it.
“What genuinely happened was that in the saddest part of the divorce, I was looking for answers everywhere and anywhere. One night, I just typed into Google ‘world turned upside down’ expecting to find some remedy to my heartache. One of the first listings that came up was a history book by Christopher Hill. He documented the Utopian movements of the English Civil War.”
It was an epiphany, just not the one she was expecting. It led her to research some of the radical groups that sprang up in the wake of King Charles I’s beheading.
“It was such an exciting time, all these movements appeared with all kind of utopian ideas,” Victoria said. These groups included The Levellers, who wanted people to have a vote.
“And then there were The Diggers,” she continues. “They grew crops on common land as an act of protest and also to feed themselves. The Diggers didn’t wait for The Levellers to get the vote, they just took direct action. This was 375 years ago, and it was a time of inflation, unemployment, and poverty. Few people have heard of The Diggers, but they played a crucial role in history.
“What hit me in the face was that, with the prices of everything, we are back in the same boat.”
Victoria knew this was the next group she was going to join. The only problem is … nearly four centuries later and, well, everyone who was a Digger is now long gone. Hence, seeking out historical reenactment societies, people who Victoria says are keeping the story alive today.
“They are fun, quirky people who love history,” she says. “A very important rule of mine is to never take the mickey out of anybody else. I take the mickey out of myself, but when I join a group, the relationships are real and built on trust. I would never destroy that.
“This humour is me … it’s me messing up. It’s the fact that I’m the worst musketeer they have ever had. I’m so bad at the drills they asked me to go and guard a door,” she laughs.
Her time with the reenactment groups is just part of the story: at the same time she was getting kitted out for civil war, Victoria was appointed as artist in residence for Whitehawk, a council estate in Brighton. Life expectancy, she says, is around 10 years lower than the rest of Brighton, and half of the children living there grow up in poverty.
“It’s a place that has serious struggles, but it’s also on the edge of the South Downs National Park, it’s on a hill that has views down to the sea, and it’s an incredibly beautiful place full of incredible characters who keep each other afloat. And that’s what this show is about: ordinary heroes who do extraordinary things in our communities when the state fails them.”
The show all came together as a result of her time there: “Local chose me to come and work on a project, and I started to get to know the different characters that live there,” she explains.
The people of Whitehawk have been involved since the start of the show, coming along to read throughs, rehearsals, work-in-progress performances: supporting, challenging, heckling and helping Victoria get the show honed down.
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Among the people she met is Brian, from a Meals on Wheels charity, who set up a kitchen in a squat at the start of the Covid pandemic so that he could feed 400 people a day.
Victoria recalls: “He recruited pensioner volunteers from the estate, phoning firms asking them to donate food because they weren’t operating. So he was getting lobster: the people of Whitehawk were eating lobster supplied from a squatted kitchen. You can’t make any of this up, can you?
“I realised that the Diggers aren’t in the reenactment society. The Diggers are right here, now, in our communities. They are alive and well, and when the state fails them, they take action, they refuse to witness their demise. If it weren’t for them, we would be in a lot worse state than we are.
“The history reenactments remember the kings and queens and the politicians, but the people who really are propping up the country are here now, in our communities, and they don’t get a light shone upon them at all.”
Her time at Whitehawk was hugely positive, and she welcomed the way the community embraced her, even with some of her more out there suggestions.
“I went to them and said, ‘Listen, I have got this really weird idea. Do you want to get involved in a reenactment in Whitehawk of the standoff between The Diggers and the landlords? They just said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it’.”
And the idea grew into a proper festival with a petting zoo, a barbecue, and a visit from Victoria’s reenactment society friends, who swapped sides for the day to play parliamentarian soldiers and landlords, allowing the residents to be The Diggers.
“The council were worried about security and I said they didn’t because we’ve got the Whitehawk Mums,” she says. “We put on the event and it was incredible.
“I don’t want to ruin the show for people but…”
And Victoria does say what happens next; sharing now would spoil some of the surprises that make up the one-hour show, which has received rave reviews. The show was performed in Edinburgh, where it was shortlisted for the BBC Popcorn Award and five-stars from the Festival’s magazine. It also received standing ovations and a clutch of positive press from the likes of The Guardian, and The Scotsman.
“It moves people to tears,” she explains. “It makes people laugh, but people have tears in their eyes. I asked people why, and they said it was because they were so moved.
“The play really restores people’s faith in humanity and, in a time where we feel just so powerless and that we can’t do anything, this goes to show that we can get involved, the things that we can do, where they exist, and we can jump on and help.”
Working with Mark Thomas is a collaboration that Victoria has long wished for.
“As a student, I remember watching The Mark Thomas Comedy Product, and I loved how great it was. He made politics so funny and so interesting, but also he was so mischievous and got away with so much,” she says.
“He has been one of my fans since the beginning, he’s been and brought his family to all my shows. I’ve always wanted to work with him, but it was never the right time or the right show: I am very inspired by him.
“We are kindred spirits both in our mischief but in our care and love of people and being on the right side.”
The experience, she adds, has been a masterclass … even if Mark has pushed her boundaries. Previous shows Victoria has staged included film clips to help her tell her story – not this time.
“Mark set me rules, and one of the first was not to have any film in the show, he said you have to set the scene with your writing and your performance. He really forced me to be better, to write better, to find ways of describing something rather than relying on film.”
And at Mark’s request, Victoria is also acting in Trouble, Struggle, Bubble and Squeak … another first for a fine art student.
“I said I can’t act … I don’t know how to stand. He said that when I tell the stories of the characters, you take on their natural persona. Before you know it, I’m performing as these people.
“In terms of writing and performance, it’s been a masterclass. He has really pushed me and he was strict, making me work hard. It’s been an incredible experience and has changed the way I write and perform forever.”
The result will be something different from Victoria’s previous shows, and she can’t wait to share with you a story about Whitehawk folk that also happens to be a universal one.
“In a world where everything is feeling a bit hopeless, this is a show full of hope,” she explains. “It’s a true story about brilliant people doing amazing things to help one another in our communities.
“And it’s really funny.”
When can I see Victoria Melody & Mark Thomas present Trouble, Struggle, Bubble and Squeak at Reading’s South Street?
Victoria Melody & Mark Thomas present Trouble, Struggle, Bubble and Squeak at South Street arts centre in Reading on Thursday, October 9 and Friday, October 10.
Both performances are at 8pm, and the show has a minimum age of 14.
Tickets cost £17, or £15 for members, and a maximum of six tickets are bookable online. Groups are asked to call the box office on 0118 937 2011 to arrange their seats.
For more details, or to book, log on to: https://whatsonreading.com/venues/south-street/whats-on/victoria-melody-mark-thomas-present-trouble-struggle-bubble-and-squeak or call the box office on 0118 960 6060.
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