Belt Up's 'Octavia'

Tom Hackett says...

This is an original fantasy tale performed in the round by an enthusiastic cast, with a strong sense of craftsmanship. A princess is sent away from her warring kingdom for her own protection, leading a life of play and creativity in a cave by the sea, until fate calls her back to rescue her land. Her journey is helped and hindered by a variety of characters and creatures who elaborate on and complicate her quest, resulting in a plot that is a little over-stuffed but mostly engaging. The shabby baroque set, heavy theatrical make-up and live music leave us in no doubt that this is theatre, and the performers repeatedly break the fourth wall to pull audience members up onstage and get them to play some of the more minor parts. The young cast suffer from a bit of self-conscious zaniness, but it’s a likeable production that keeps both adults and children on board until the bittersweet final scene. 

Ciara Simms says...

This is a very enthusiastic and exciting performance, in which there is always something going on so it never gets boring. The actors play many different characters and get all of the audience involved either being an animal or just making noises so that you can really feel part of the play. There are a lot of funny jokes, but there is also a fair amount of sadness that makes it feel real. They use music and lighting creatively and make wonderful dramatic changes throughout the performance. They also make good use of singing and dancing for happy and exciting scenes. You can watch the show from every angle as there are seats all around the stage. The actors are amazing because even though people are sitting all around the stage everyone still manages to see what is going on. Overall, it’s a good show and worth going to see.