The Pappy Show have collaborated with National Youth Theatre and The Freezer Theatre to develop "Care". It was physical, ensemble, and contemporary theatre which aimed to be playful and visual in style. It was presented as part of Home's Orbit Festival. This was the ensemble's love letter to the NHS (National Health Service). How is care given in one of the most precious national services? What is care and how do we care? These were the stimuli or questions wrapped around the performance.
70 years is how long the NHS has existed. The diverse ensemble of actors dissected the day to day operation of the organisation, telling stories and exploring political issues from the perspective of doctors, nurses, and patients. Hospitals experience everything from the birth of babies to the death of loved ones; unadulterated elation to great despair. There was no denying the joy, passion, and care invested into the performances and the theatre project itself.
Entering the Theatre 2 space, we were welcomed by the actors with a personable, "Hello" or "Hi". It felt like you were maybe being greeted in a waiting room or doctor's reception. It felt chaotic enough to be like a waiting room with audience members and actors wandering around. This was just my theory though because, to be honest, it wasn't clear enough why they were greeting people. The costumes were cleverly considered, most of the time the ensemble wore different coloured t-shirts reflecting the diversity of our population and them. When they wore the same uniforms, that could have been a comment on how some rude and unappreciative patients see the uniform but not the person behind it, who is caring and working very hard.
It felt like the script was authentic to the actors onstage, who were not experts when it comes to all things medical but nevertheless some of them will have used the NHS or known someone who will have used it. It was written from their experiences. The employment of physical theatre was appropriate given that this was about our health and wellbeing. It was creatively utilised to explain the staffing structure within the organisation. However, the movement could have been executed more sharply and precisely. Some of the actors were better than others when it came to the presentational performance style. A handful of actors didn't look at the audience directly in moments of direct address and others overplayed the playful delivery of text. On the whole, the energy was there though.
One of the central stories, which kept returning throughout the performance, was the story of two brothers (I think) and one ended up being a carer to the other after a life-changing accident. This was where we experienced representational performance. The acting between the two of them was sincere and emotive, but their dialogue during the physical theatre choreography was unnecessary and awkward. One of the actresses sung a song while this was happening too, her voice was melodious with a balance of strength and fragility. (Although, she did close her eyes too much.)
Fragmentation of creative ideas and stories was interesting and to be expected, but there was nothing fluidly linking the scenes together. It was a bit stop-and-start. What made it slightly worse was the actors openly announcing the start of a new "section".
As I said before, the empathy and heart within the show was there but most of it covered topics and talking points regarding the NHS we were already aware of. We're aware of the inconsiderate time wasters who could cost patients their lives, we know that (frustratingly) some staff face racism and abuse, and we understand that the potential privatisation of the NHS will lead to many people not being able to afford the health care they need. Don't get me wrong, it's wonderful and important this company are raising awareness but what about the scenarios or arguements which are not exposed in the mainstream media? It confirmed what we already knew but what about the insights we don't know about? Some of the political speeches became preachy too, I agreed with what was said, but the show could have been somewhat cleverer about the way they did things occasionally.
The sound design was rather melodramatic at one point. An old man spoke about how valuable the NHS is and reverb was added to it for dramatic effect, but just the speech alone would have made an impact. The ensemble of the actors were mainly young and do have a bright future ahead of them. They have raised awareness of how vital and amazing the NHS is and how it should be protected. The passionate political spirit was there, it's just the final product could have been better.
Reviewer - Sam Lowe
on - 20/9/19
No comments:
Post a Comment