The Argus: fringe_2011_logo_red_thumbIt's a story which never seems to get old – big business makes a mistake and tries to get the public to pay for the mess.

Certainly that’s at the heart of Kemble’s Riot, a play set during Old Price riots in 1809, which saw audiences cause disturbances in Covent Garden’s New Theatre for 66 consecutive nights.

What makes this play different though is that rather than the audience being expected to sit silently and watch, they are going to be whipped up as an integral part of the show, playing the unruly mob.

“If you go to see a pantomime there’s a beautiful moment when the baddie comes along and everyone boos,” says writer and director Adrian Bunting.

“It’s a shared moment with an audience which is totally underused in modern theatre. What I have done is take it to the extreme.”

Kemble’s Riot sees actor George Dillon playing the titular role of John Philip Kemble, a respected actor, who had a share in the Theatre Royal Covent Garden.

When the theatre burned down in September 1808 the owners had no insurance, and so passed the cost of repairs on through high ticket prices. This led to the disturbances which disrupted Kemble’s play.

“He was a very stubborn man,” says Bunting. “People would almost go to see the riot rather than the play – it had its own life.

“The actors onstage were going through a dumb show, walking through their parts, not even trying to perform. It was such big news at the time.”

The rioters on each night of the performance are being led by two actors in the crowd, who will be leading booing, shouting and singing to disrupt the show, which also features Alex Childs, as Kemble’s acclaimed co-star and sister Sarah Siddons.

“The audience is guided at all times,” assures Bunting. “It’s remarkable, when you ask an audience to behave en masse it has a much bigger effect than audience participation which is usually about picking on one individual. People can find that extremely unpleasant.”

Working with an audience en masse is something Bunting has experimented with in a series of one-man shows, and his infamous World’s Smallest Theatre in Edinburgh.

When he heard the story of Kemble and the disturbances, he felt he had hit upon a perfect combination.

“It’s a lovely story,” says Bunting. “It seems to strike a chord with people who don’t always go to the theatre.

“I’ve been very lucky with the fact that rioting and arts cuts are in the news. It’s also interesting how keen people were about the theatre then. It’s something we take for granted now.”

* Starts 7.30pm, tickets £6/£5. Call 01273 709709 or 01273 917272