A contemporary kitchen sink drama set very much in the here and now, exploring a family’s relationships in and out of the kitchen by playwright Tom Wells. Written in 2011, the play has received critical acclaim for its sharp turn of phrase and been likened by critics to Alan Bennett for its accurate portrayal of family life. It was said to be one of the best new plays around when it was released thanks to a sharp, well-crafted script and characters with deeper layers.
Droylsden Little Theatre have charged director Mandy Mallinson with a challenging, single set piece which just five characters to draw out the finer details of their characters and their inter-relationships and she has risen admirably to the brief. The theatre space is wide and a large open plan kitchen diner had been created with functioning sink (key to the plot), working kettle, oven and fridge. The ingenious tiling at the front of the kitchenette was well thought out and looked very authentic. Overall, the décor appeared to be mid 1980s with the MDF sideboard, dining suite and pine kitchen, dodgy tiling and net curtain at the window. The garish landing wallpaper leading off to the upstairs was also a nice touch. The set design team have accomplished an impressive set.
Set in fictitious Withernsea, Yorkshire, it follows a family’s hopes and dreams slipping away and the pull on each other. Father Martin, a milkman for years, played with a sombre resolution by Eddie Bradbury; business is going down the pan thanks to the competition of yoghurt sales at Tesco! His milk float is on its last legs but he refuses to give up hope that he can still keep it going, despite the daily cancellations from his customers. Mum, Kath (played with a controlled, slow release valve of comedy by Tracey Parker) is trying to ‘change’ things in their home and their lives. Her words are having no effect so she tries other ways like couscous and sushi for Christmas Dinner! She has been a dinnerlady for 25 years and knows that their lives aren’t fabulous but they can do things to make things better. Moody daughter, Sophie played with appropriate petulance and sullenness by Kira Richardson has a potential boyfriend but shrugs him off with a cool, cold-fish attitude which made me want to tell him to just stop trying; she’s not worth it. For some reason, her drive is to obtain her Black Belt at JuJitsu but we don’t know just why this is her motivator until her resolving scene at the end of the play when the whole reveal is touching and makes us yearn for her to sort things out with the lad who obviously adores her. She is so frustrated with her lot and this was evident for the audience to observe as she had lots of light and shade and moments of naval gazing at how to fix her lot. ‘Don’t you think I know my life is bad? I don’t need a plumber to tell me that!’ was one of my favourite lines. Her brother, Billy, the gay, would-be artist was off to Art School in London after being noticed by art gurus as a kitsch candidate when he entered a Dolly Parton oil painting with sequinned collage as his portfolio. It’s all a big accident of course because Dolly is Billy’s icon and he produced it as an act of love and dedication to Dolly and he’s not the artistic genius he’s thought to be. Jake Talbot’s Billy was funny, camp but not too so and he had a gentle playfulness of a socially awkward teenage boy who’d not yet decided what or who he was. I liked his characterisation a lot. The hilarious scene where Sophie and Pete the plumber test out his reactions to a potential assailant was real laugh-out-loud stuff. Hysterical and nicely directed too. Lastly, the plumber; another awkward-to-begin-with boy and then blossoming and realising who he is, Pete. An orphan, living with his weed-smoking, Hip Hop-loving gran had Benny from 'Crossroads' undertones to begin with then we realise his backstory, his peer influence and the softness and tenderness he displayed with Sophie in their final scene was poignant.
There were lots of lovely scenes in this wonderful play, mostly comedic but some real pathos from the mum fed-up of not being heard, the father’s monologue to his daughter of his established round as he reeled off the route and the streets and she sat there respectfully listening as he maudled and reminisced on his life, his world, his passion. Wry and well-observed is my lasting impression of this production. We have all been in these moments, in one shape or another with our own families and in our own lives. As the mother reassured her son that he had places to go in the world that he wasn’t right for ‘this place’ she was every mother wanting her child to do well. At the end of the play, the father finally connects with his son in a touching and heart-wrenching embrace. I had a lump in my throat.
Well done to all the cast, crew and the ensemble for a well-produced and a carefully directed production where Mallison has extracted some diverse aspects of humanity which we recognise from every actor on stage.
Get a ticket if you can for a refreshingly, contemporary and thought provoking ‘Kitchen Sink’ drama.
The play runs from 25th - 30th November at Droylsden Little Theatre.
Reviewer - Kathryn Gorton (reviewed on the Dress Rehearsal)
on - 24/11/19
I expect that the residents of Withernsea might be surprised by their town being called "fictitious"
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withernsea