Scratched!

The Chocolate Plant received its first proper public outing as part of a Scratch Night performance at Exeter Bikeshed Theatre on Sunday 27th November 2011.

On a clear and starry night, Anna and Bea headed down the M5 to present some work in progress to an audience of Devonian strangers, people who would not be too close or kind to tell us what they really thought, and people who were not immediately connected to what had been going on in Bristol over the last two hundred odd years. As well as getting feedback on which direction to take, we wanted to test how the show would go down if it toured.

An audience of over a hundred people, aged from 15 to 80, squeezed into the theatre bar to view and comment upon four pieces of work in progress. We were third on the bill, and offered a 20 minute multi-media stand up presentation with an overview of some of the content that we are working on. We were clear that we were not demonstrating the form of our show (which will be a much more theatrical drama documentary, performed by actors, with music and media) but that we needed help grappling with the story.

We asked for feedback addressing these questions: What resonates with you? Which bits of the story should we focus on?

We got many useful suggestions from those who came up to speak to us. We were happily surprised by the range of ideas it sparked for people and it gave us an excuse to crack open a tin of Roses, well, it is nearly Christmas.   


Below are some of the comments from the feedback forms.

Very interesting and a real eye opener – as it was meant to be 

A really nice mix of humour and passion. 

It was great. You are great. Do more. It really sparked a debate.

You could hear the audience recognising the contemporary relevance. Those bursts of oohs and aaghs, and the occasional gasp.

I found the break up of families and the social histories the most interesting part. Hostile takeovers of profitable companies are so damaging. This story needs to be told.

Consumers should be more informed, and can then dictate. Why is it cheap? Where does it come from? These connections matter.

It made me start thinking about the riots, about youth unemployment, about the loss of those family companies. It’s scary.

If you can bring something like that to the stage, that’s fantastic

Having just been made redundant after 39 years I felt for these workers.

Unexpected and quite brilliant. Provided no end of thinking about riots, banks, care, the camps.

Really interesting – fantastic delivery Very well developed – I look forward to seeing the next version. Do bring it back.

We hope that these comments, and conversations with those who have asked to stay in touch, will support our creative development. 

Thanks to the Exeter Bikeshed Theatre for hosting us, and for providing such a varied and dynamic audience.


Now if only we could find a way to do the research without eating too much chocolate...