The 24 short Advent Plays came to an end today with their 24th online offering all directed by Chris Lawson in a covid-safe environment. So here is my summing up of plays 17 - 24.
Once again it was a complete mix of styles and genres, with two being performance poems, most being comedic, and the odd one or two pulling our heart strings as our contemporaneous corona-lifestyle interferes with our celebrations. We even had our one and only duologue, a grotesque comedy by Rob Ward called 'Turkey'.
I think the plays in general became better as they went along and I certainly enjoyed these final offerings more than the first few. However, here are my personal favourites...
Door 19 gave us Sorcha McCaffrey's 'Christmas TV' which was a bijou comedy piece about a neighbour house-sitting and binge-watching TV, performed with accustomed ease by Joyce Branagh. Door 20 was a complete change of mood and easily the most serious and 'weepie' of them all. Written by Cathy Crabb, 'Spare Chair' tackled the lonely side of Christmas, the secret side of Christmas, and an aging lesbian unable to tell her family that she spends Christmas every year with her girlfriend... that is until COVID came along. Sympathetically unravelled by Karen Henthorn.
Door 21 brings us back slowly with a bitter-sweet poem by Matthew Smith, 'Sparkle', which puts a middle-aged man with middle-age-spread musing over his life at this time of year. Nicely paced by Neil Hurst. But the favourite piece in the pack, by quite a long way, behind door Door 23, comes from the pen of Ian Townsend with his very Alan Bennettesque, 'Christmas Plans'. Performed by Jamie Rhall, this little comedy monologue is just perfect!
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 24/12/20
No comments:
Post a Comment