1927 is a British theatre company co-founded by actor, director, and author Suzanne Andrade and animator Paul Barrit. The duo set out to experiment with storytelling mediums—like film, animation, theatre, and pantomime. Their result: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, a storytelling extravaganza that draws on the aesthetics of pantomime, early silent films, and DIY stop-motion animation. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea was a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2007; audiences responded to Andrade’s dark humor and the heightened miming of actor and costume designer Esme Appleton, all set to Barrit’s Edwardian visuals and Lillian Henley’s original score.
In Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Appleton and Andrade deliver a series of gothic vignettes, including the tale of Choo Choo— a long-suffering cat who dies only after being run over by a car, mauled by a dog, and struck by lightning three times—and a story about parents who deep fry their children after running out of food for their beloved deep fryer. These delightful shorts won the crew a world tour, as well as nominations for two New York Drama Desk Awards after appearing as part of the Public Theater’s Under the Radar New York festival.
The group’s follow-up work, The Animals and Children Took to the Streets, builds on the multi-media storytelling techniques the group developed in their first show. As Andrade commented to Time Out London, the group has worked hard to maintain the “musty and raw at the edges” world they established in Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. Committed to creating another interactive, highly stylized, and wickedly funny piece, 1927 brings us into the Bayou Mansions. Agnes Eaves and her daughter arrive late one night at a creepy-crawly apartment building, unsure if it’s a “symbol of hope in a hopeless place” or if it’s all just a horror. Check out the video below for a glimpse into the wonderfully twisted world of 1927.
—Arianna Gass