Hello and welcome to this audio introduction to Bull by Mike Bartlett at the Young Vic
theatre. The production is directed by Clare Lizzimore, with design by Soutra
Gilmour. It was orginally produced by Sheffield Theatres in 2013 and opened at the
Young Vic in January 2015 before being revived in December 2015.
The audio described performance is on Saturday 9th January at 3pm. There will be a
touch tour at 1.30pm. If you’d like to book for the touch tour, and to confirm the start
time which may be subject to change, please call the Young Vic box office on 020
7922 2922. We’ll repeat this introduction in the auditorium at 2.45pm. Bull will be
described by Eleanor Margolies and Kirstin Smith.
The show lasts for 55 minutes, with no interval. This introduction will take about six
minutes to listen to. It gives an overview of the set, characters and costumes.
There is a cast of four actors, three men and one woman. All wear black business
suits, and the men wear identical ties patterned with small black dots on a grey
background.
Thomas is in his late thirties. He’s about five foot ten and heavily built with full
cheeks and the beginnings of a double chin. His brown hair is trimmed close at the
sides and slightly longer on top. He has a light beard and wears thin-framed glasses.
He wears an ill-fitting black suit, shirt and tie, which seem to restrain his his stocky
frame. His movement reflects his soft figure – he’s slightly vague and tentative but
with an underlying force. Thomas has large, nervous hands, which he never seems
to know what to do with.
Isobel is a little younger, in her late twenties or early thirties. She’s petite with brown
eyes and a sharp chin and is carefully made up with a slash of bright red lipstick and
pearl earrings. Her brown hair is cut in a bob, parted on one side and sharply cut in a
straight line at the jaw. She wears a black fitted jacket and matching round-necked
dress with spike heeled black shoes. She moves confidently, stalking around the
space, and often raises her eyebrows and wrinkles her brow in a show of thought.
Isabel tends to speak with widened, surprised eyes and a smile that runs counter to
her words.
Tony is also in his early thirties, about the same height as Thomas. He has pale
eyes under a heavy brow and square jaw that he holds firm, lips compressed. His
typical expression is deadpan, sometimes with a touch of irony. Tony’s dark blond
hair is close trimmed at the sides and longer on top. He’s muscular, lean and wolfish
and his black suit is perfectly fitted with neat creases in the trouser legs. He holds
himself tightly contained, often folding his arms or pressing them into his pockets.
Mr Carter is the oldest of the four, in his late forties, his dark hair balding slightly. He
has a slightly squashed, boxer’s nose and wears a dark suit and the same corporate
tie as the others. A short but powerful figure, Carter makes expansive, deliberate
gestures, often holding them for much longer than might be natural.
The action takes place in a space that is a cross between an anonymous office
space and a boxing ring. Smooth steel handrails enclose a five-metre square raised
area. One corner is open, with a couple of steps up to allow people to come and go.
Below the handrails, there are glass panels walling in the space. In one corner,
there’s a watercooler, a small perspex bin attached to the wall nearby for discarded
cups. In two other corners, there are perspex holders containing folders with bright
blue plastic covers. The floor is covered with grey carpet tiles. Flourescent tubes with
silver reflectors are suspended in a square formation above the room – typical, cold
office lighting. Outside the room, the floor of the auditorium is painted a glossy eggyolk yellow.
The audience surrounds the arena on all four sides. Two rows of spectators stand
around the sides – they can lean on the metal handrail, within touching distance of
the actors. Behind them, higher up, there are three rows of seated spectators, on
beige benches. The grey breeze block walls of the auditorium are exposed to view.
When we come in, the space is washed by sickly yellowish light; as the play begins it
snaps to cold, clinical flourescent white.
Cast and production credits
Thomas Marc Wootton
Isobel by Susannah Fielding
Tony is played by Max Bennett
Carter Nigel Lindsay
Design Soutra Gilmour
Light Peter Mumford
Sound Christopher Schutt
Direction Clare Lizzimore
Forthcoming audio described performances at the Young Vic
Battlefield
13 Feb 2016 2.30pm
A Girl is a Half-formed Thing
5 Mar 2016 2.45pm
If You Kiss Me, Kiss Me
2 Apr 2016 3pm
Blue/Orange
4 Jun 2016 2.30pm
Yerma
20 Aug 2016 2.30pm