It is heartening and hopeful to see so many small-scale companies turning to the medium of film and computer / Zoom and YouTube, etc, in order to still continue to produce theatrical works during these long months of covid lockdown. I have so far seen many more original pieces, monologues, and new ideas trialed online that I would normally have seen in an enitre year had they been staged. Of course that means that the content available is much greater. and perhaps also means the that the overall quality is not as strong as it would have been in a theatre, especially as actors, writers, directors and producers grapple with this new medium.
Every once in a while though something completely different comes along. Something which stands out and alone, unafraid to be counted. And here, with Yellow Mug Theatre Company, we have one such example. It is not a series of monologues, it is not an evening of new writing, it is not a scratch night, it is not a variety show; nor is it a film or a web series. Instead, it is a serial... filmed whilst in isolation, and starring just two people, (each episode is a monologue).. this is a series of very short (5 - 10 minute) monologues, all connected, all episodic, which are meant to take you to the edge of your seat and make your heart beat a little faster. Not quite horror, but certainly taking you there, bit by bit, each of these monologues is layered so as to give the viewer only a tiny snippet of what is to come. It's clever and it's acted very realistically.
In short the whole serial is about kidnapping, coronavirus, loneliness, selfishness, and trains! But actually it's about much more than that.
Andrew Lake plays a demineering yet quietly confident sadist, acting to the camera as in a hostage video style, and yet we only ever get a glimpse of where the hostage is being kept, never actually seeing them, which makes it all the more frightening. Whilst intermingled in with this is another man, a next door neighbour who makes a trains and train station enthusiasts' blog. I have watched the first 7 episodes so far, so I don't know how these two are connected other than being neighbours, not do I know who is the hostage, although I have a good idea. It's compelling, interesting, and most importantly, original.
You can find the episodes on the company's YouTube channel, and they are free to watch, and as long as you are not of a nervous disposition, then, you'll also enjoy them.
Reviewer - Chris Benchley
on - 8/8/20
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