OVERVIEW: "The best writing was John Webber and Sarah Beckett's In the Can, and best direction was from Tommo Fowler, Kate Morrison-Wynne and Saul Reid."
Curated by Tom Latter, produced by Helen Matravers
Directed by Micha Colombo
With Matthew Curnier and Rosie Akerman
A couple have killed a Filipeno woman and, over their cups of tea and while reading newspapers, discuss the bits they particularly enjoyed and the merits of killing Poles over Filipenos. They could have both done with trusting the script a bit more and underplaying the situation more. The script's comedy derives from how anomalous such offhandness is with death and murder, so Micha Colombo should have put that at the fore, especially for Rosie Akerman whose over-exaggerated performance and constant grinning was grating and unnecessary. The piece could have done with more movement too: to add in dynamism and comedy, they should have increased domesticated action, stepping over the body on the floor to make cups of tea, etc.
Welcome to the United Great British Republic by Nick Cheeseman
Directed by Dom Riley
With Keir Carroll and Robyn Silva
A black girl is stopped in customs by a very chatty official. The script has quite a lot of witty potential, but it becomes a bit obvious as it goes on. The situation hasn't been fully thought through: the implied racism doesn't quite ring true so it doesn't have any real effect. The premise is a good one though and with greater sophistication it could be extended. Keir Carroll gives quite a good performance but Robyn Silva's characterisation feels a bit crude.
What I Do by Daniel Davies
Directed by Lucy Appleby
With Steve Hay
Steve Hay gives a good performance in this monologue piece. Although it is quite entertaining (primarily because of Hay's engaging quality), the scene doesn't ever really go anywhere (as Dougie himself explicitly tells the audience at the play's end, in an attempt at self-referential humour that doesn't quite work). About a beggar who earns £20 an hour and spends all his time down at the bookies, my overriding sense was that Daniel Davies' character has been reductively stereotyped.
Trafalgar Dreams by Sevan K Greene
Directed by Carla Kingham
With Ashraf Ejjbair and Matthew Wade
This is about a man who tries to get a pigeon to sit on his arm in memory of his dead father. Overacting was a tad irritating.
Porcelain by Felix O'Brien
Directed by Tommo Fowler
With Alex Forsyth, Hatty Jones and Ellie Dickens
The first half of this piece is brilliant and beautifully directed by Tommo Fowler. Alex Forsyth, who plays Finnian, is great and I really enjoyed how he interacted (/flirted) with Hatty Jones, who played Millie. Everything goes downhill when Angela (Ellie Dickens) enters the scene: Millie is so openly rude to her (without sufficient reason) that the character loses credibility, and when she leaves the momentum goes with her and it all becomes rather slow.
In the Can by John Webber and Sarah Beckett
Directed by Kate Morrison-Wynne
With Zara Beswick, Kate Marlais and Antony Eden
This is a really tight and engaging script about a photographer (McD, played by Antony Eden) who is doing a shoot with a black girl called Issy (Zahra Beswick). The two have a history and the fact that McD is back with his wife feeds the flames that make Issy worry that she's going to be used as the poster girl for a piece about reducing immigration. Kate Marlais as Clem is particularly good: her character is a walking cliche, but played with enough resourcefulness and comic dynamism that she feels real rather than stereotyped.
Sticks 'n' Stones by Sherhan Lingham
Directed by Saul Reid
With Stevie Raine and Chris Brazier
Bruce and Jones meet in a urinal. Stevie Rainer as Bruce does well to so subtly convey his sexual interest in Jones, and the pair do have quite good chemistry. The end (Jones is actually called Tom Jones, as per the message in the loo) is almost annoying in its predictability, but otherwise the script is quite good.
No comments:
Post a Comment