With the first lines of the play being a voice-over announcing quite clearly, "Caution; the following programme contains scenes of silliness and irreverence, which some viewers may find funny.", you are left in no doubt as to the tone this gentle and amusing production will take. It's a mockumentary; perhaps a love-letter to the theatre, which makes good use of our modern technological lockdown saviour, Zoom.
Written and directed by Andy Barry, the story concerns a local theatre group whose regular meetings have been stopped due to the pandemic and lockdown, and so their director has taken to giving workshops online. These are met with derision and cynicism, despite their being quite happy to participate and continue; and as the documentary progresses we learn more about certain individuals and how they cope with lockdown and lack of theatre, as well as the love interests, intrigues and dynamics within the group itself. Some of the storylines are comedic because they are based on a certain probable given; whereas a couple simply don't seem to have any hold on reality at all, and as such fail to be funny. I think primarily of the new group member who appears to have never stepped foot inside a theatre before and has no clue about even the simplest and most basic knowledge, which is just impossible to believe someone so "dense" would join. I also doubt the theatre games mentioned and played would be funny or even understandable to anyone from a non-theatrical background.
However, this is a mockumentary after all, and using the recognisable voice of Julie Hesmondhalgh as the voice-over and continuity for the 'film', it also places it very much within the bounds of not just Manchester but the Royal Exchange too. But it is the members of The Elders' Company who deserve the credit for this production, which came out of devising and improvisations Barry did with them prior to writing, in a similar way I imagine Abigail's Party was created. They all come across as very real, and the whole presents itself nicely in very much the way a standard BBC TV documentray might approach the same subject.
My favourite moment was watching one of the couples at home dress up, put a curtain around the TV and have drinks ready at the 'interval' when they watch a live-streamed play, filling in the atmosphere of a live theatre experience from their homes.
The realities of our current situation and not compromised, as there are moments of sadness and regret, and there is a nice message for us all: "Theatre is in us all, it's for everyone. Theatre is stories, and stories are in all of us."
My favourite moment was watching one of the couples at home dress up, put a curtain around the TV and have drinks ready at the 'interval' when they watch a live-streamed play, filling in the atmosphere of a live theatre experience from their homes.
The realities of our current situation and not compromised, as there are moments of sadness and regret, and there is a nice message for us all: "Theatre is in us all, it's for everyone. Theatre is stories, and stories are in all of us."
Reviewer - Chris Benchley
on - 28/11/20
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