theatre feature

Best Of Brighton: Joe Bone prepares to pull the trigger

Having been wowed by it in Brighton, Chris Davis talks to Joe Bone about his one man show ‘Bane’ as it heads to Edinburgh

Living on the Isle of Wight, where he likes to take long relaxing walks, and having only ever shot a rat in the leg with an air rifle, Joe Bone is quite unlike his New York gun-slinging alter ego Bruce Bane, as he’s perfectly willing to admit. “The only thing we have in common is our looks”, he says. “I’d like to say I also have luck with the ladies, and can slide my way out of tricky situations, but sadly that’s not true. Bane lets me be more bold, brash and confident than I am in real life”. Joe also uses the character to deal with those unhealthy temptations: “The smoking mime has increased a lot since I quit in January; I get quite a kick out of it”.

‘Bane’ is a one man film noir parody in which Joe plays a multitude of characters, whilst doubling up as the show’s very own sound effects system. Needless to say, it requires a lot of energy, yet Joe is also starring in another show at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, ‘Lily Through The Dark’, produced by The River People. “I get a two hour break between the two but I wake up in cold sweats during the night sometimes thinking about how I’m going to do it” he confesses. But we approve of Bane’s collaborations with The River People, because it was through one of their productions, a comedy sketch show, that he first met Edward Eales-White (writer and performer with Clever Peter at Edinburgh 2008) with whom he launched Whitebone Productions, the company behind ‘Bane’.

It’s a piece of theatre that clearly has cinema at its heart. “‘Bane’ pretty much comes from hanging out with mates watching a lot of films”, he admits, “particularly the high concept cinema of the 80s, like ‘Back to the Future’ and ‘Indiana Jones’. And I love the blend of comedy and horror that you see in a film like ‘American Werewolf In London’, which has remained a big influence on me, although Hitchcock and Frank Miller are in there too”.

Many influences have helped to shape ‘Bane’, because the protagonist is a character that has been some time in the making. “It started out as a five minute character piece which I performed as a module when studying Drama & Film at Winchester University”, Bone recalls. “It was something I’d always wanted to expand but never got round to until last December”. Since then, Joe has showcased Bane in his home town and performed ten minute circuits in London, but his biggest performance to date has been at the Brighton Fringe, which proved both useful and successful. “Brighton was a fantastic warm up for Edinburgh and I’ll be very comfortable to go back again next year”, he says. “So much goes on in Brighton all year round that it’s kind of like a never ending festival, which means people aren’t so geared towards the actual Fringe when it happens in May as they are in Edinburgh come August. But my Brighton Festival audiences gave me brilliant feedback”.

Performing the show in Brighton first has also helped Joe to hone the show down to the punchy sixty minutes required by his venue. “I’ve cut the show for Edinburgh partly because the Pleasance only offers an hour” he explains. “It’s incredibly difficult to edit
but I know the Edinburgh show will be much bolder and slicker as a result”.

Bone also has some bold ambitions for the show’s post-Edinburgh future. “I would love one day to make a six part programme for television to be based around Bane” he says. “True cinematic language and the film noir genre are something I feel television is lacking. But for now the show itself is the main focus, and with hopes for a tour and the second part of the trilogy to complete (which will premiere at Brighton Fringe 2010). I have a lot to keep me occupied”.

What ThreeWeeks in Brighton said about Joe Bone: “One-man shows rarely come better than this, as Joe Bone’s comical cinematic pastiche takes its audience on an exhilarating journey with gangster Bruce Bane. Clearly inspired by Frank Miller, Tarantino, Scorsese and Hitchcock - there are so many references it’s impossible to name them all - this captivating story was performed seamlessly by Bone (or should I say Bane) who inventively combined mime, physicality and vocal skills”.


Bane, Whitebone Productions, Pleasance Dome, 5 - 31 Aug (not 17), 3:00pm (4:00pm), prices vary, fpp181.

Lily Through The Dark, The River People, Bedlam Theatre, 9 - 29 Aug (previews 6 - 8 Aug), 7:30pm (8:30pm), £7.50 (£6.50), fpp207.

published: Aug-2009

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