A play written and performed by David Judge, directed by Hannah Tyrell-Pinder and produced by Box of Tricks.
The, possibly autobiographical, play follows ‘David Judge’ as he recounts his life, marriage, divorce and how he and his wife raise her black son. The latter subject in particular comes and goes throughout the piece in a very natural way; it doesn’t always cause the lead character problems or angst so it is not always the focus. And it is objectively excellent. It is a carefully crafted script balancing humour, drama and style. And it is an astounding testament to Judge’s ability as a performer that there is perhaps only one mistake in the entire 80 minute monologue that also sees him juggling complex props, movement, accents and characters. This is also a credit to Director Hannah Tyrell-Pinder for the well-judged incorporation of prop movement into the piece; it consistently feels natural and only draws focus when it’s supposed to.
It is necessarily a spoken word piece; something of this length requires rhythm. The repeating, layer-building technique often found in spoken word is used sparingly and effectively, and only in the moments of intense and complex emotion. Otherwise a simpler blank verse is employed as an effective and sustainable narrative tool. This lends the whole piece an excellent sense of rhythm and pace that never strays too far into heavy stylisation.
The set was ingenious and I believe it is Katie Scott who deserves the credit for that. Based around a skeletal car with an adjustable structure that complements a character who links his identity with his car and the purpose and place it gives him. This turns out to be a great frame to the narrative when it is recalled later in the story. It is not an overdone metaphor so works very nicely.
While technically and objectively perfect; from the script, to the direction, to the execution of both performance and set design, it was ultimately underwhelming. The topics of race, cultural identity and just identity were handled sensitively and clearly but nothing really stayed with me as particularly affecting. Everything was touched upon fairly lightly so while good for what it is there’s no new ground broken with this piece.
Reviewer - Deanna Turnbull
on - 19/2/19
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