“Bursting into Flames”: A Truly Surreal Experience

By: Monica Hernandez


During the First Annual London Storytelling Festival which took place at The Leicester Square Theatre from October 1st to October 10th, I was invited to see the storyteller Martin Dockery perform an original story titled “Bursting into Flames.” The show was to be a fictional account of the storyteller’s life in Heaven and it took place on October 8th at 7:30 pm in the lounge of The Leicester Square Theatre. Unlike the grand and large performance space of the main house, the lounge was tiny and could only fit a small number of people which gave it a more intimate feel. This turned out to be the perfect environment for the performance since the minute Dockery came to the front of the room full of excitement and enthusiasm, I was immediately engaged and found myself believing everything he told me despite the purely fictional story.

The front of The Leicester Square Theatre.

The enthralling narrative begins with Dockery speaking to the audience about his life in Heaven. He describes it as a place where friends are made instantly, traffic does not exist, and parties are held every night. At this point Dockery’s voice along with his movements and gestures are so upbeat that one cannot help but smile as he describes how amazing everything is. However, Dockery then shows his expertise as a storyteller when he launches into a brief description of Hell. His voice immediately lowers to a whisper while describing a lake of fire and he makes scrunching movements suggesting that he is melting in the flames. All the while as his depiction becomes darker and more graphic, he slowly inches his chair closer and closer to the audience. The result is one of extreme discomfort as I personally found myself twitching in my chair as if I were trapped in a lake of fire myself. These changes in tone and expression only serve to confirm Dockery’s skill at storytelling.

 

After the brief account of Hell, Dockery’s enthusiastic personality returns and he resumes talking about his adventures in Heaven. Highlights include him speaking about his girlfriend in Heaven including one moment where he pretends to be her while performing a comedy sketch. Indeed the majority of the performance has a comedic tone, but there are also brief unsettling scenes and descriptions that produce a haunting effect. For instance, as Dockery’s narrative of Heaven continues the image of it slowly starts to deteriorate. Dockery’s girlfriend cannot find her children or even remember their names; yet, she assures him that they are dead. Her inclusion of disturbing smothering jokes into her comedy sketch gives the audience an idea of why she is so sure. Dockery’s friends also seem to transform and as the story progresses, he becomes annoyed with them showing up at his house every night where the evenings are all exactly the same. The audience later finds out that when alive, one of them killed many people in a war and saved their teeth as souvenirs while another had numerous affairs. Yet it is only at the very end of the story when Dockery says that he realized he was suddenly surrounded by a lake of fire that the audience is given the confirmation that Dockery’s character was actually in Hell the entire time. This left me in a state of awe and fear and by this point I had become so immersed in the narrative that for a second I thought I was in Hell myself.

Martin Dockery in an advertisement of the show.

Besides the powerful story alone, Dockery also incorporates other elements which transform it into a more vivid experience. His eye contact with his listeners effectively transports them into his world while the changes in the tone and pitch of his voice are successful in interacting with the audience and creating visions of the details he presents. Thus his enthusiastic and higher pitched voice produces a sense of joy and comedy while his softer whispers and more serious tones, such as the one he uses when describing how his girlfriend cannot find her children, unsettles his listeners and foreshadows the true horror of his situation. Moreover, Dockery’s use of gestures also aids in further allowing the audience to visualize certain situations such as when he pantomimes trying to close his closet that has become stuffed with wine bottles given to him by his friends.

 

Since Dockery is actually an American from New York it might be assumed that the reason I found his story and the humor he used to be so compelling was because I am an American myself. However, one would have only had to hear the rippling laughter of the mostly British audience that night and see their exuberant faces as they exited the theatre to know that this clearly was not the case. The audience consisted of adults widely ranging in age and all of them seemed as enamored by the story as I was which truly shows Dockery’s remarkable ability to captivate his listeners. In fact my only criticism regarding the performance was that it started ten minutes late; however, Dockery’s amazing storytelling more than made up for this.

Hence it is incredible to me that a lone man telling an obviously fictional story in a dark lounge with no props save a chair to sit on, can be so captivating and entrancing. The more intimate setting along with Dockery’s expressions and movements not only seemed to transport me to another realm, but it also caused me to feel intense emotions including joy, sympathy, and pure terror. Indeed perhaps one of the reasons why Dockery’s story still haunts me is because his character in Hell was not malicious or evil, but instead seemed just like an ordinary person. This along with the fact that I am still thinking about the story as well as visualizing and analyzing it shows the true power of storytelling and of Dockery’s astounding skill as a storyteller.

Martin Dockery during the performance.