We often hear about low budget productions that are there to showcase writer or actor talent – or in some cases both. Encompass Productions have taken this a step further with their no-budget concept called “Bare Essentials” to showcase London talent – normally performed in fringe theatre but due to lockdown this was their first venture using the online mediums of Facebook and YouTube and hence the slight renamed version called “Bare E-ssentials”.
Our host for the evening was Liam and although I am sure he anticipated a short stint between each production, he was required for a little more than he probably expected due to some technical issues suffered during the live stream. Two out of the four short plays had sound issues and for that reason were not broadcast during the live stream – they were posted the following day on YouTube and Facebook in order that people could watch at their convenience. The host handled these technical issues extremely well and was very open with the audience watching – this is Encompass’ first attempt at a live stream and of course things can go wrong. Liam was both entertaining and very apologetic which was just about the right balance.
The four pieces of work that were broadcast had been narrowed down from 2000 submissions which emphasises the calibre of the work that was on display – and not least the effort that Encompass have put in to work out which writers deserved their place in the line up.
The first piece was a monologue titled “The Big 30!” was written by Teresa Espejo and performed by Sian Eleanor Green. Filmed on what appeared to be her laptop in her home, this followed the drama of a woman (Laura) who had turned 30 and was in the process of getting ready for a get together with her friends. She was attached to her phone constantly during this process, fielding messages from her friends as well as her mother. It was a journey through the life of a single girl, recently out of a controlling relationship – although perhaps not something she realised at the time. She pretends she feels liberated about being single but spends her who time attempting to convince herself of this fact and in reality is craving to be in a relationship with the soulmate she has yet to find.
“The Big 30!” was an enjoyable watch and Green was very believable as the self-doubting 30 year old with mother / daughter relationship hang ups. However, I felt that the piece overall lacked an ending or a punchline – it kind of just petered out.
The next in our list of monologues was “Radio Foreplay” by Lucy Kaufman, with a Radio 4 producer Robin played by Alexander Pankhurst. The concept of the play was simply brilliant – the idea that Radio 4 were about to ask a budding writer to tone down the language in a play about Tourette’s. The close-up camera work by Pankhurst himself was superb, close enough to pick up all of those facial expressions and deadpan looks when asking the writer to remove swear words. This turns into a hilarious negotiation of the swear words that can be included and those that need to be removed as the conversation extends to his commissioner. An absolutely stunning piece of work that had me in stiches throughout.
“Vintage” was the only two hander in this collection, again written by Lucy Kaufman. This followed a couple, David (Josh Morter) and Emma (Holli Dillon), who were living in a world where they chose to be in 1942. They are attending a couples' therapy session and what perhaps sounded like a good idea to keep the blitz spirit and nostalgia is now proving to be the undoing of their relationship. The writing here is exemplary and both Morter and Dillon play their parts superbly. The comedic elements are subtle but the messages are deep and clear.
The final piece is a much darker short play – “Little Boy” written by John Foster. The monologue is based on the true life story of Claude Eatherly (James Unsworth) – a war hero suffering from PTSD and the after effects of being one of those who dropped the Hiroshima bomb. Unsworth portrays all of the uncomfortable intensity that you might expect from Eatherly who questions himself, his country and the notion of what a war hero really is. This is an extremely powerful performance that is very well written and expertly filmed in what appears to be an old warehouse – almost reminiscent of where a prisoner during war time may be held.
Encompass have created a real showcase here of talent that I suspect we will hear much more from them in the future. Notwithstanding the technical glitches, this was in my opinion a roaring success. I do hope that they continue to provide a platform for talented writers during this lockdown phase and we see more online content from them in the near future.
Reviewer - John Fish
on - 16/5/20
No comments:
Post a Comment