Welcome to The Middle of Nowhere! Where people eat their words, cry over spilt milk and let cats out of the bag – our musical play tells the story of a fictional medieval town where all of the weird and wonderful idioms in the English language were founded.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder – so naturally the notoriously ugly King Silverspoon wants all of the eyes in the kingdom. But when he hears news of a ferocious beast with one big, beautiful eye lurking in the woods outside of town, a wild adventure beckons and all hell breaks loose.

From the dastardly King (born with a silver spoon in his mouth – literally) to Seraphina the Sorceress and her bottle of crocodile tears, our musical play is a darkly comic tale full of absurd characters, stories and songs. Inspired by The League of Gentlemen, Game of Thrones and all things medieval, The Dead of Night in the Middle of Nowhere is a romp through our most curious idioms and how they (possibly) came to be.

About the Show

The Dead of Night in the Middle of Nowhere is a folk musical that takes inspiration from folklore, fairy-tales, Medieval morality plays, Jacobean tragicomedy, sketch comedy and cabaret. Set in a fictional medieval kingdom – The Middle of Nowhere – the play imagines how well-known idioms such as ‘curiosity killed the cat’ and ‘crying over spilt milk’ came to be. These tales are interwoven as part of a spectacularly surreal narrative journey which centres around the dastardly King Silverspoon (born with a silver spoon in his mouth – literally) and his search for the eye of The Beast.

With its myriad of characters, the play toys with and revitalizes stock figures from folk and fairy tales such as the damsel in distress, the wicked sorceress and the tyrannical king. All of the characters are played by five multi-rolling actor-musicians (always present onstage) and the entire play is accompanied by an onstage cellist. Songs are interspersed throughout the narrative and often pastiche different musical styles and genres, such as traditional folk, contemporary rap, show-tunes and medieval music. The writing is eccentric, lyrical, and full of word-play. It blends medieval-style dialogue with more modern language and the comedy ranges from puns to slapstick to dark humour.

This was Riddlestick Theatre’s debut show. It was performed for two nights at Ten Foot Tall as part of the Cardiff Fringe Festival in June 2016, in the woods at Brainchild Festival in July 2016, as part of Tobacco Factory’s Prototype Showcase at The Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol, in November 2016 and sold out two nights at The Room Above, Bristol in February 2017.

Written and Directed by Tom Manson and Kate Stokes
Music by Tom Manson and Sophie Jackson
Cast: Alison Cowling (Accordion), Daniel Duncan (Violin), Sophie Jackson (Cello), Tom Manson (Guitar), Ashley Scott, Kate Stokes (Clarinet)

EPIGRAM ARTS REVIEW: ‘The Dead of Night in the Middle of Nowhere’ @ The Room Above

Online Arts Editor Helena Raymond-Hayling gives her two pence on the full nine yards of Riddlestick Theatre’s production of The Dead of Night in the Middle of Nowhere, a delightful frolic through the possible origins of idioms in the English language.

Upon ascending the rickety stairs of The White Bear, I find myself greeted by a member of the cast who is dressed top to toe in medieval garb. She comes very close to me and asks if I would take this play with a pinch of salt, and amusingly, hands me a pinch of salt.

The narrator, dressed in tights and a tunic, promises to ‘tickle [my] fancies and float [my] boats’. I settle in for an evening of a witty and fanciful exploration of traditional forms of tale-telling and bizarre and quirky explanations of phrases thrown about by us all.

The story begins with the birth of King Silverspoon, born with a silver spoon in his mouth when his mother craved to eat cutlery throughout her pregnancy. Born unfortunately ugly, with a face ‘like mashed potato’, his mother reassures him that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ before her untimely death due to her untoward habit of consuming tableware.

King Silverspoon realises that in order to be perceived as ‘beautiful’, he needs to collect as many eyes as possible, after all – this is where his alleged beauty lies. The King erupts into a frantic jig, joined by his fellow cast members all singing at the top of their lungs – not a pair of left feet in sight.

The ridiculous King Silverspoon and his merry men suddenly hurl hundreds of polystyrene eyes into the audience, which causes quite a stir and yet the fantastical and mad comedy is seamlessly sustained. The cast’s incredible energy and unrelenting stamina is truly commendable.

Next we are introduced to Seraphina the Sorceress, a slinky and menacing witch, who runs an apothecary. When she stumbles across a woman who is looking for her lost cat, she promises that she has a cure for every ailment possible – including lost cats. Her musical number is slick, and her performance stands out as both chilling yet enthralling.

She sings of all the potions she can create whilst marching through the audience. Seraphina wonders my way and offers me a cure for the bubonic plague – given current GP waiting times and looming NHS cuts – I am delighted by her generosity.

Finally, she offers the distressed woman a phial of crocodile tears to cure her of her lost cat. It later transpires that her cat has been stolen by two bumbling cat-burglars, reminiscent of the incompetent criminal duo in Home Alone. The first burglar implores the second not to ‘let the cat out of the bag’, their friction soon descending a farcical scuffle, accompanied by timely ‘miows’ and raucous laughter from the audience.

We meet other whimsical characters along our journey through this medieval fable – Mr Humble Pie, the pitiful pie maker and Randall the limbless boy. Randall performs a hilarious poem about how he has lost his limbs: by lending a stranger a hand; being caught red handed by a beetroot farmer and his sister pulling his leg in an altercation. These characters are portrayed with fiery enthusiasm and ferocious spirit.

All the cast members are constantly switching between roles and playing instruments to accompany the singing, dancing and the narrative, which is indeed admirable. The inclusion of a clarinet, cello and violin is upbeat and boisterous, exquisitely fitting the hectic storyline.

The Dead of Night in the Middle of Nowhere is well worth seeing – the cast are talented, the music is jolly and the story is a imaginative blend of canny and daft. This play will leave you tickled pink and is a chance to go on a journey of our most commonly used idioms – an opportunity that only comes once in a blue moon. ★★★★
Published on February 25, 2017 by Helena Raymond-Hayling
http://epigram.org.uk/arts/2017/02/dead-of-night-in-the-middle-of-nowhere#

Audience Tweets:

“One of a kind pun-filled, tale-telling offering from wonderful & talented players ensemble @riddle_stick @TheRoomAbove”

“Great show from @riddle_stick last night at #TheRoomAbove… a musical ‘pun de force’ with ‘eye popping’ acting”

“Had my fancy well and truly tickled tonight @riddle_stick’s #DeadofNight @TheRoomAbove! Fab fab fab fab fab!”

“Utterly outstanding work from @riddle_stick @10FeetTallCF tonight. What a great way to open the @Cardiff_Fringe!”

“What a great show! @riddle_stick theatre tonight in @Cardiff_Fringe! ‘Beauty’s in the eye of the beholder!'”

“Big congratulations from @riddle_stick for ‘The dead of night in the middle of nowhere’…. it well and truly tickled me.”

“Congrats to the talented @Riddle_stick cast for a hilariously entertaining opening night @Cardiff_Fringe”

“Everyone go see @riddle_stick at the Cardiff Fringe tomorrow night, top night!”