Review: COMPOSITOR E, VAULT Festival

Published exactly four centuries ago, the First Folio collected all of Shakespeare's plays for the first time. 235 of around 800 copies still survive and sit on the 10-million mark in value. The book was printed by Edward Blount and Isaac Jaggard and put together by King's Men actors John Heminges and Henry Condell. Without it we'd probably have lost much of the Bard's work. It's a fascinating piece of history that changed the world of literature and theatre forever.

Written by Charlie Dupré, Compositor E sees a young apprentice at Jaggard's printing shop, John, working on a perplexing manuscript of Macbeth. The reason behind his eagerness to pursue "the one with the witches" hides years of horrifying trauma. Echos of his mother's death accompany the composition of a special version of the Folio for John's most hated man, King James. It's a gripping play, but it isn't without shortfalls.

Dupré builds his characters alongside the logistics of operating a printing press. Spelling dilemmas and missing letters give it a comical vein that runs through it from the start. Suddenly the narrative takes a much darker, vengeful turn and the characters grow into themselves. John (Harry Pudwell) is cocky but not arrogant, ruled by fits of PTSD as he fights the torture of the memories of bearing witness to his mother's trial. Isaac, on the other hand, is a hectic presence.

Played by the writer, there's an overdramatic feel to the role, perhaps due to Dupré's artificial and excessively physical approach compared to Pudwell's, who is minute in the development of John. He is assured and confident, exploding in distress before coming together again with elegance and precision. With John's mind working faster than what can be shown in real time, Amie Burns Walker's direction slows the action down to a standstill while his internal monologue is aired.

Quotes from the Folio appear projected behind them as the typesetter runs the text. While at this stage the images look rather PowerPoint-y, they become a celebration of language and add some visuals to an otherwise barren space. Burns Walker uses very few props, so there's quite a lot of staring into thin air, asking the audience to fill in the gaps. It works and engages the public actively in a sublime brushstroke.

Although the script is generally articulate and well-written, there are a few passages that might need some TLC as they come off as rushed and remain unexplained. Running at just over an hour, a longer show would certainly patch up any kind of doubts we have at this point. Compositor E has the potential to become an exceptional piece about who actually makes history.

Compositor E runs at the Network Theatre for VAULT Festival until 19 February.

VAULT Festival has been left without a venue for next year. You can contribute to the #SaveVAULT campaign here.

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