A Review Of 'Bull' by The Pranksters

'Bull' written by Mike Bartlett.
As seen by me on the 2nd May 2019

What a fantastic show! Hard-hitting and expertly timed lines that really touched me. This is a play all about how bullying keeps going long into our adulthood.

Growing up being bullied myself , it showed how in work situations that can happen too.

Now, we never find out the company that the three main characters work for, but that is beside the point, I think.

It shows that it can happen to anyone, at any time and for any reason.

Tim Brown played the main character with excellent pathos and humour. The other characters in the play weren't interested in his backstory or what he'd done to get where he was. Kirsty Lane and Jeremy Gooding showing off their skills at being decidedly nasty under a veil of good honest hard workmanship. Phil Snell also appeared giving the audience a glimpse into how business organisations really feel when it comes to the upper echelons of management.

Showing the time when new blood comes in, unfortunately sometimes, at the price of old blood. Marie Gardener directed the four actors and this script with the humour and ferocity that the play deserves. The stage set like a boxing ring with a water-cooler at the centre shows what a night you are in for.

It was a great show, it really piqued my interest as I could relate with it on so many levels.
Firstly, I was bullied at school so I know what it's like to be picked on and made to feel bad for needing assistance and/or help. I had two best friends at primary school, one who left due to unforeseen circumstances and another who was taken off me by my enemy. Which is why I've never felt like enough on my own. It was an absolutely ridiculous thing to be bullied for and it made me feel very sorry that I existed. That feeling has never left since. When I wallow in self-doubt or pity that feeling always comes back.

Watching this play made all those feelings come back but I'm glad. It just goes to show how strong I am now.

In the play, the main character hadn't turned up with the right paperwork and needless to say that was his undoing.

It was performed at The Star pub in Guildford where I have to be lifted inside up 2 steps. It would have been nice if the pub had invested in some portable ramps to combat this but both staff and production crew were on hand to assist. I wasn't able to go to the bar to get a drink but fortunately Ollie got me a rum and coke.

I was helped into The Star pub in Guildford by Oliver Matthew Bruce and Jeremy Gooding. Jenny Swift was on hand looking out for Oliver and myself. It was a really fun evening. I was later escorted out by Oliver Matthew Bruce and Mark Ashdown.

It is on again at the Leatherhead Drama Festival on the 15th of May.
The next show The Pranksters are putting on is Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare in The Guildford Castle Grounds and that will be on the 5th to the 13th of July.
Steph

XxX