Queen of the Slaughter, Brighton based Prodigal Theatre’s new show at the Komedia (until Sun 27th), is a meditation on the dark & violent aspects of human nature. Located in a ‘place of slaughter’, its central protagonist is an idealist who has come to fight for the cause he believes in.
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The piece opens with a striking image of the eponymous queen, the spirit of slaughter, as a bird of prey searching for a fresh kill from on high. What follows is an exploration of the process by which the idealist is converted into that ‘prey’, through a quasi-religious and erotically charged process of indoctrination, ritual, jingoism and threat. Prodigal’s house style is ‘laboratory’ theatre, a process of experimentation with theatrical forms taking its inspiration from a variety of ‘texts’, using a layered and complex language of physical imagery, dance, music and language. Last year’s highly successful Ten Thousand Several Doors, a take on Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi, combined this style the vivid, physical language of the classic 17th century revenge tragedy to sensational effect. Queen of the Slaughter places less emphasis on language, character, plot and linear structure, resulting in a more languid, lyrical and expressionist performance with moments of great beauty. Nonetheless, I suspect some aficionados of more conventional theatre who were won over to experimental forms by Prodigal last year will be left writhing in their seats. It’s a brave and committed step for a company with a clear artistic vision, determined to remain unconstrained by commercial imperatives or conventional expectation. | 
