Part Victorian thriller, part contemporary tale of friendship and rebellion, RedCape Theatre’s new time-travelling, genre-busting show The Luminous will go on a UK tour this autumn.
Delving into tales of old, the show employs the company’s trademark blend of physical theatre, dark comedy and gripping storytelling to explore the power of narratives to penetrate the present and forge unexpected connections with the past.
Set in a modern-day book club, the action follows the course of one evening as three women discuss their chosen book - a schlocky melodrama set in Victorian London called Luminous. The wine is flowing, and the discussion gets heated as the women get drawn deeper into the narrative, from which lurid stories of ghastly Victorian England are brought to life. Tales of an anonymous killer haunting the city and women whose bones glow through their skin begin to awaken unexpected memories and connections for the women, and the world of the book begins to blur with their present reality.
Written by Catherine Dyson, The Luminous is being brought to stage by RedCape Theatre, originally founded by creative duo Cassie Friend and Rebecca Loukes, who will also star in the show. Drawn to ordinary people in extraordinary situations, the key mission of RedCape revolves around telling stories that matter. The productions are distinctly visual and highly physical with compelling new writing.
Ahead of the show going on tour we sat down with writer Catherine Dyson to learn more.
What can you tell me about the show?
The Luminous is a play about three women, a book, and one unforgettable night. Mighty, Mags and Alice, who all work in different departments of the same hospital, are meeting up for a monthly book club. The book they’re discussing is called ‘Luminous’, and it’s a bit of a trashy, lurid story set in Victorian London around the time of the match women’s strike of 1888, and when Jack the Ripper was terrorising the East End. The three women are waiting for a fourth member to turn up, and over the course of the evening they drink a lot of wine and disagree quite forcefully about the book. As the story progresses, elements of the book tap into different memories for the women, and the worlds begin to blur. The play combines RedCape Theatre's unique blend of physical theatre, dark comedy and gripping storytelling.
The Luminous is a play about three women, a book, and one unforgettable night. Mighty, Mags and Alice, who all work in different departments of the same hospital, are meeting up for a monthly book club. The book they’re discussing is called ‘Luminous’, and it’s a bit of a trashy, lurid story set in Victorian London around the time of the match women’s strike of 1888, and when Jack the Ripper was terrorising the East End. The three women are waiting for a fourth member to turn up, and over the course of the evening they drink a lot of wine and disagree quite forcefully about the book. As the story progresses, elements of the book tap into different memories for the women, and the worlds begin to blur. The play combines RedCape Theatre's unique blend of physical theatre, dark comedy and gripping storytelling.
Where did your journey with the piece begin?
The original inspiration for The Luminous was sparked by our fascination with three protests from different eras in which women placed themselves and their bodies at the centre; the Greenham Common protests of the 70s and 80s and the Reclaim the Night movement which began in the 70s and has had a recent resurgence; and the match women’s strike of 1888, which is sometimes credited for starting the trade union movement.
The original inspiration for The Luminous was sparked by our fascination with three protests from different eras in which women placed themselves and their bodies at the centre; the Greenham Common protests of the 70s and 80s and the Reclaim the Night movement which began in the 70s and has had a recent resurgence; and the match women’s strike of 1888, which is sometimes credited for starting the trade union movement.
The women in the Victorian match factories were working in terrible conditions, and the phosphor which the matches were dipped into poisoned them. Many of them developed a terrible disease called ‘phossy jaw’ which began with a toothache and developed into a fatal condition which destroyed their bodies. One of the strange effects of this was that parts of their body would glow in the dark. This is the touchstone image referenced in the title of the play.
At the same time we were playing with the idea of creating a show set in book club. The popularity of book clubs is ever-growing, and we thought this could be an interesting way to explore female friendship and a fun way of accessing a portal to a story in a different time.
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| The Luminous in rehearsal. Photo by Catherine Hadler. |
What have been the biggest challenges faced bringing the production to the stage?
We started talking about the ideas for this piece several years ago when we were working on another project, and in the meantime, we’ve made and toured other RedCape shows, as well as pursuing our own independent jobs and projects. We had to bide our time with this one as it’s a bit bigger in terms of scale and complexity from our more recent projects, so we had to make sure all the elements were in place and to secure the funding that we needed. Once everything was in place, the exciting challenge for me as a writer was to bring together all the many threads and tendrils that had sprouted from our original idea and weave them into a fully formed script. The three of us live in different parts of the UK and are all working parents so it can be tricky getting together. The challenges have been ones that I’m sure are familiar to many creatives in our industry, where money and resources feel ever tighter. We’re so thrilled that we’re finally getting to make and share this show, and be on stage together which is where we’re happiest!
How did you approach blending the styles used in the show?
We were really interested in creating a show that blends different styles and spans different eras, and we felt this could help support the story we’re telling, which is multi-layered with lots of intricate connections. The book club was immediately helpful as a frame, as it gave us access to a different time and tone through the book the women are reading. We’re quite rude about this fictional book in the show which gives us licence to have fun with it and play with a sort of vaudeville style when we bring it to life on stage. We also discovered that around the time the book is set, there were places called penny gaffs which were forms of popular theatre entertainment for the working classes.
We were really interested in creating a show that blends different styles and spans different eras, and we felt this could help support the story we’re telling, which is multi-layered with lots of intricate connections. The book club was immediately helpful as a frame, as it gave us access to a different time and tone through the book the women are reading. We’re quite rude about this fictional book in the show which gives us licence to have fun with it and play with a sort of vaudeville style when we bring it to life on stage. We also discovered that around the time the book is set, there were places called penny gaffs which were forms of popular theatre entertainment for the working classes.
This was a really helpful discovery for us in blending the quite naturalistic style of the book club into the very colourful, heightened world of Victorian entertainment. There’s also a third layer to the show which is set in a hospital. The hospital is key to all the elements of the story, and in a way it’s the connecting tissue of the play. We were interested in Greek choruses and working as an ensemble, so that’s a third style we’re playing with, but it has a very contemporary, almost sci-fi feel to it. It was important to us that the different styles all speak to each other and serve the narrative.
Do you have a target audience in mind with the work?
We tend to attract quite diverse audiences to our shows which is something we’re really proud of. The Luminous explores themes which are of huge relevance to our society today including violence against women, our relationships to our bodies, and the power of protest. We think this will have a broad appeal to people of all ages and genders interested in protest and activism. We’re also reaching out to book clubs as in a sense this play is a celebration of the transporting power of storytelling and the particular kind of community and intimacy that book clubs provide. But ultimately, we think the show will appeal to anyone who’s looking for a good night out – it’s an inventive story full of light and shade which will hopefully both entertain you and give you plenty to think about.
We tend to attract quite diverse audiences to our shows which is something we’re really proud of. The Luminous explores themes which are of huge relevance to our society today including violence against women, our relationships to our bodies, and the power of protest. We think this will have a broad appeal to people of all ages and genders interested in protest and activism. We’re also reaching out to book clubs as in a sense this play is a celebration of the transporting power of storytelling and the particular kind of community and intimacy that book clubs provide. But ultimately, we think the show will appeal to anyone who’s looking for a good night out – it’s an inventive story full of light and shade which will hopefully both entertain you and give you plenty to think about.
If the show was a biscuit, what would it be and why?
I think The Luminous would be a brandy snap. It’s boozy, crunchy, with a rich centre!
I think The Luminous would be a brandy snap. It’s boozy, crunchy, with a rich centre!
What keeps you inspired?
One of things I love about working with RedCape is that we find inspiration for our ideas in all sorts of different places. We like to keep moving and evolving, and I think our work is really eclectic even though there’s a strong RedCape style that runs through it all. We always say that we make work about ‘ordinary people in extraordinary situations.’ But I think in a way that’s a pretty good description of the universal human experience, and that’s what keeps us inspired.
One of things I love about working with RedCape is that we find inspiration for our ideas in all sorts of different places. We like to keep moving and evolving, and I think our work is really eclectic even though there’s a strong RedCape style that runs through it all. We always say that we make work about ‘ordinary people in extraordinary situations.’ But I think in a way that’s a pretty good description of the universal human experience, and that’s what keeps us inspired.
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| The Luminous in rehearsal. Photo by Catherine Hadler. |
What do you want an audience take away from seeing the show?
I think different people will take away different things from this show, and it will connect to people’s life experiences in different ways. There isn’t a central message or moral, this is a play which really leans into the complexity of the themes we’re exploring. It might make you think about the potential of protest, about how some things change and some things never change, or about the human body - it’s power and fragility. Or it might make you want to go home and escape into a good book. First and foremost, we want people to feel like they’ve been entertained and told a compelling story.
Where can people see the show?
The show plays on tour opening at Corn Exchange Newbury on September 25th before visiting The Exchange in Twickenham on September 27th, Northcott Theatre in Exeter on October 4th, Norden Farm Centre for the Arts on October 18th, South Street in Reading on October 24th and 25th, Greenwich Theatre on November 1st, and The Drum at Theatre Royal Plymouth on November 14th, 15th and 16th.
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