Pathway To The Red Sun

Inspired by MADAME BUTTERFLY and set in a futuristic landscape PATHWAY TO THE RED SUN draws influences from Japanese ghost stories, myth and legend and Guillermo Del Toro’s PAN’S LABYRINTH.

ROGUE THEATRE tells the story of a samurai’s daughter who falls in love with a hero.  In a world where birds have forgotten how to fly, where honey is a precious commodity and people train to fight off salesmen.

With poetry and text by Anna Maria Murphy (BBC Radio 4, National Theatre, Kneehigh, Wonder Show), original live music, humour, acrobatics and a highly visual style; Rogue Theatre mixes circus spectacle, the passion of opera and the tension of Japanese horror to create a vivid and dream like production – a love story at the end of the world.

Set in a futuristic war torn landscape Rogue Theatre brings together influences from Bladerunner and Japanese horror to tell the tale of an age old love story.

Inspired by Madame Butterfly and full of the original pathos Pathway to the Red Sun mixes the supernatural and the macabre, the dream like feeling of falling in love and the disturbing reality of war.

With poetry and text by Anna Maria Murphy (National Theatre, Kneehigh, BBC Radio 4) and live music from one of Cornwall’s most prominent rising talents Andrew Bate (compared in reviews to Rufus Wainwright, Philip Glass and Brian Eno).

Review by Shiela Vanloo of The West Briton

Keay Theatre, St. Austell, Cornwall

THE long awaited fourth production from Rogue Theatre played to a packed Keay Theatre last week.
Written by Anna Maria Murphy, this incredible piece of work draws strongly from the dark side – a splendidly Gothic drama.
Set in futuristic Japan at a time of war, holocaust and madness, Pathway is both terrifying and beautiful. A tale of death and murder with a heartbreaking love story weaving its way into the hearts of the spellbound audience.

Rogue’s productions are a feast for all the senses and Pathway raises their personal bar even higher.
New musical director, 20-year-old Andrew Bate, has created a fabulous soundtrack for Pathway; becoming an integral part of the show by performing live on stage as the story unfolds.

A wonderful piece of theatre, Pathway to the Red Sun continues its nationwide tour.

Rondo Theatre, Bath  (Anna Britten) **** 4 star Review Venue Magazine

Speeded-up footage of drive through Tokyo; an electric guitarist noodling in the corner; helmeted robocops ‘scanning’ the audience… ‘Pathway to the Red Sun’ is at once self-consciously futuristic yet also – in its appropriation of Puccini’s 1904 ‘Madame Butterfly’ – an old-as-the-hills love story. Watched over by a mythical death figure (Angelina Boscarelli) clearly inspired by Japanese horror films such as ‘The Grudge’, young Harajuku-style tea-maker Matty falls for a soldier who, after his return, Matty introduces him to his daughter who he decides to take away for a better life. Tragedy ensues.
Wendy Taylor is heartbreakingly good as Matty – sweet, funny, feisty, innocent, self-sacrificing and most of all real. A superbly understated scene in which she sends her child away brings a fresh tear to the eye days later, and the terrific chemistry between her and Ollie Oakenshield’s soldier makes their eventual reunion in the afterlife the perfect finale. This is a superb ensemble effort, with special mention to Andrew Bate whose exciting live soundtrack evokes Philip Glass, Rufus Wainwright and Brian Eno.

PATHWAY TO THE RED SUN, Review Weymouth College
Stimulating and disturbing cocktail at Weymouth College
A HEADY mixture which seems to be made up of Madame Butterfly, Blade Runner and 1984 with a dash of Cabaret stirred into the pot makes Rogue Theatre’s latest production an emotional cocktail that is both stimulating and disturbing in equal measures.
Crammed full of new ideas, this Oriental musical drama sets off on a futuristic journey in which young helmeted soldiers intimidate the population while they themselves slavishly obey orders in an oppressive society where the sun is overheating the planet, and even more importantly, honey is in short supply.
By contrast, pretty women still perform the ancient ritual of the tea ceremony and continue to make sacrifices for men, so it’s a case of… no change there then!
A wonderfully talented cast of young actors give vibrancy and energy to this innovative and occasionally off-the-wall piece of theatre which features acrobatic dance, music and film along with a powerful story of love and loss that is fresh and full of life though all too short in length.
Angelina Boscarelli and Ollie Oakenshield, creators of Rogue Theatre, also take leading roles.
And musical director Andrew Bate is the backstage star of the show with his excellent instrumental and vocal images created from an original score.
The nationwide tour of this production returns to Dorset on Thursday, December 4 when it plays at Bridport Arts Centre.
By Marion Cox Weymouth Echo

Pathway To The Red Sun by Rogue Theatre