BODY 115 – The Hope Theatre, London

A lyrical journey through London and beyond, Jan Noble takes a tragedy as his starting point to create something beautiful in Body 115.

The Story Of Body 115

I first noticed the memorial plaque a few years ago, on a wall at King’s Cross Station. It references a tragedy which occurred on 18 November 1987. A discarded match or cigarette butt (smoking on the Underground had only recently been banned but still happened) caused a wooden escalator to smoulder and catch fire. A fireball then swept through a ticket hall. Thirty one people lost their lives that day, with more than 100 injured.

Of those thirty one victims, one remained nameless for many years. Body 115, the name a reference to his mortuary tag, was buried in a pauper’s grave in Finchley and remembered as ‘An Unknown Man’. Police followed various leads before identifying him in 2004 as Alexander Fallon. Originally from Scotland, Fallon had been experiencing homelessness in London after falling on hard times. His family suspected he may have died at King’s Cross long before formal identification.

Jan Noble does not retell this story per se in Body 115. Rather, he reworks the facts into an hour of lyrical poetry. Fallon, again unnamed, takes the place of Virgil to our unnamed narrator’s Dante. Together they explore London and beyond in deliberate homage to the Inferno. The two characters, both voiced by Noble, share visions of London and Europe, often peopled by literary spectres. Keats on Hampstead Heath, Wilde on the streets of Paris. We are whisked from place to place in an ode to a long-gone London, to a union with Europe lost much more recently.

Storytelling Through Poetry

Noble’s one man show suits the intimate space of the Hope Theatre in Islington. He is a consummate storyteller, crafting worlds using only his own voice and body (with sound design by Jack Arnold, executed with pinpoint precision by stage manager Matthew Sheldon). Poetry is a craft requiring skill from the poet and concentration from the audience, and it binds us tightly together during the hour’s performance.

Having read about the subject and the facts of the story of Body 115 in advance, I wasn’t quite expecting the evening to unfold as it did. On the one hand, Noble partially re-anonymises Fallon by turning him back into Body 115 as our story’s guide, which seems contrary to the long search to identify him. But on the other hand there is something very beautiful about taking the idea of this long-unnamed victim and giving him a life, thoughts and dreams beyond the bare facts.

Noble has a superb turn of phrase, and this hour’s verse weaves together many narrative threads. The late 80s turning point between an old London and a new. The loss keenly felt in recent years by lovers of Europe. The pain and the freedom of solitude or of being forgotten. The intersection of meanings of Inferno as underworld, as fire, and as one of the great works of Western literature, is a complex and fitting framework on which to hang this new story.

Body 115 is an excellent pick for poetry enthusiasts: Noble has an impressive creative and performance track record under his belt. But it also exists at the cusp of poetry and theatre, and so may also tempt any would-be poetry converts out there. I recommend a little light reading on the events of 1987 before attending so you can follow easily. Although thoughtfully, you can also scan a QR code and follow along via a web page. Body 115 is a well-crafted experience, which will keep your mind turning over long after you leave.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3.5/5

Body 115 on until 13 May 2023