In the centre of London stands a column, atop which a man surveys all that is in front of him as tourists take pictures, feed pigeons and celebrate the ringing in of another new year. The man is Lord Nelson, Vice Admiral of the British Navy; a hero of the British people. In Nelson: The Sailor’s Story, Nicholas Collett single-handedly brings to life the tale of this man, who so famously defended England from the French, yet whose story is unknown to many in today’s hectic world.
Collett has created a montage of scenes, showing the experiences of those involved in the famous naval campaign; from Nelson, down through the ranks, all the way to a boy in his first battle, running for gun powder. It’s a story of hardship and of valour with Collett providing his usual strong performance in this world premiere of his new work. A handful of suitcases and the odd barrel are all that is needed to recreate the various parts of the English fleet, reconfigured cleverly to form writing desks, canons and doctor’s quarters. The atmosphere of the battle is generated through good use of lighting and sound bites, while Collett also performs the odd a cappella folk tune to tie scenes together.
While hearing the narrative from multiple characters does create a more complete picture of the confrontation, it also makes the story feel rather disjointed at times. Some characters appear for just a single scene while others return again and again. Though they tend to inhabit different parts of the stage and have distinct mannerisms and voices, thus making it fairly easy to differentiate them, it is still somewhat distracting, as you never really get to settle into any of the individual stories and thus don’t form an emotional connection with the characters.
There is however, a nice contrast between these action sequences and the calm speeches delivered by the “modern day” Nelson from atop his column in Trafalgar Square. For those who are unfamiliar with the details of the Battle of Trafalgar, or even have little idea of who Lord Nelson was, this will prove an interesting history lesson, as Collett presents details of both Nelson’s naval career and private life. In amongst this historic tale, a modern day character, a homeless man (presumably resting at the feet of Nelson’s column) alludes to the plight of the little man, and specifically the returned servicemen, in 2013. While this does highlight that some societal inequalities haven’t changed since Nelson’s days, it is only visited as one small section of the show and seemed a little too distanced from the rest of the performance to feel entirely successfully integrated.
While the newness of this work means that there are aspects that need refining, it is still an interesting and enthralling tale from a consummate performer.
Kryztoff Rating: 3.5K
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