The return to seeing live theatre marks a genuine move towards returning to normality and to have an evening of six original short works provided added impetus to the fact that live theatre was back. This was a varied evening in every sense, with a mix of both emerging and established writers with considerably varied stories and backdrops. Every play had something to say and there was no obvious way of telling which plays were written by new writers.
‘Fresh Meat’ by Joanna Nicks opened the night with a two-hander giving a performer’s view of striptease. This included many insightful lines, notably that waitressing at TGI Fridays felt more demeaning than stripping in public and the interchange between an experienced, glamorous performer and a shy, self-conscious visitor was well handled. Above all, it showed how striptease could be viewed as professional and empowering entertainment rather than a seedy form of male exploitation.
‘Wildfires’ by Jan McEvery covered several dichotomies as three young people went out into the open with a would-be guru to try to make sense of the present world. This group were even cynical about The Guardian so clearly nothing was sacred! The writer caught the angst that many young feel of not being able to believe in or trust anything and the conflict came with one member of the group still having a certain confidence in ‘experts’. At the other extreme, a hanging memorial was destroyed after being mistaken for an observation camera and the dangers of total cynicism were well observed.
‘XYV’ by Ravi Thornton presented a dystopian nightmare, with an original take on the on-going debate about the true nature of gender. This future world appeared to have largely removed masculinity because of its tendencies towards violence and dominance but as this short piece showed, things don’t stand still. Several decades were covered over a few minutes and the transitions were well handled with the aid of off-stage voices and backscreens. This was an ambitious idea which succeeded in showing a progressive dehumanisation of people.
‘To Have And To Hold’ by Pegeen Murphy was a charming piece of retrospection as a champion dancer looked back on a thirty year relationship with her partner which has recently suffered a devastating blow. This piece had by far the largest amount of costumes and props and these well-used giving an element of glamour as the man and woman transformed into their competition look. The style was interesting, being effectively two interwoven monologues.
‘It’s A Pea Picking Privilege’ by Kobie Francois was the only period piece of the evening set some fifty years ago and showed a white mother’s interactions with her mixed race daughter. This was an interesting perspective for this present time when attitudes to race are under the microscope. The play chimed with the classic 1959 movie ‘Sapphire’ which graphically showed racial prejudices in the UK at the time and this play certainly caught not just racial attitudes of 1960’s Britain but showed some of the practical difficulties at a deeply personal level.
‘Signs’ by Alex Keelan was the final piece and appropriately dealt with death and coming to terms with the loss of a loved one. An interesting take was on observing how a death can cause divisions on those left alive but the focal point of drama was on the desperation that can be felt in wanting to have contact with the dead. This was well handled without descending into melodrama or attempting to bring in the supernatural. This was an interesting piece which left open spiritual matters and ultimately brought the drama very much to the on-going story of the living.
This was a very enjoyable evening and well lived up to a definition of 'Vignettes': brief evocative description, account, or episode, covering many different angles and scenarios. Consistently good acting and sharp direction.
‘Fresh Meat’ by Joanna Nicks opened the night with a two-hander giving a performer’s view of striptease. This included many insightful lines, notably that waitressing at TGI Fridays felt more demeaning than stripping in public and the interchange between an experienced, glamorous performer and a shy, self-conscious visitor was well handled. Above all, it showed how striptease could be viewed as professional and empowering entertainment rather than a seedy form of male exploitation.
‘Wildfires’ by Jan McEvery covered several dichotomies as three young people went out into the open with a would-be guru to try to make sense of the present world. This group were even cynical about The Guardian so clearly nothing was sacred! The writer caught the angst that many young feel of not being able to believe in or trust anything and the conflict came with one member of the group still having a certain confidence in ‘experts’. At the other extreme, a hanging memorial was destroyed after being mistaken for an observation camera and the dangers of total cynicism were well observed.
‘XYV’ by Ravi Thornton presented a dystopian nightmare, with an original take on the on-going debate about the true nature of gender. This future world appeared to have largely removed masculinity because of its tendencies towards violence and dominance but as this short piece showed, things don’t stand still. Several decades were covered over a few minutes and the transitions were well handled with the aid of off-stage voices and backscreens. This was an ambitious idea which succeeded in showing a progressive dehumanisation of people.
‘To Have And To Hold’ by Pegeen Murphy was a charming piece of retrospection as a champion dancer looked back on a thirty year relationship with her partner which has recently suffered a devastating blow. This piece had by far the largest amount of costumes and props and these well-used giving an element of glamour as the man and woman transformed into their competition look. The style was interesting, being effectively two interwoven monologues.
‘It’s A Pea Picking Privilege’ by Kobie Francois was the only period piece of the evening set some fifty years ago and showed a white mother’s interactions with her mixed race daughter. This was an interesting perspective for this present time when attitudes to race are under the microscope. The play chimed with the classic 1959 movie ‘Sapphire’ which graphically showed racial prejudices in the UK at the time and this play certainly caught not just racial attitudes of 1960’s Britain but showed some of the practical difficulties at a deeply personal level.
‘Signs’ by Alex Keelan was the final piece and appropriately dealt with death and coming to terms with the loss of a loved one. An interesting take was on observing how a death can cause divisions on those left alive but the focal point of drama was on the desperation that can be felt in wanting to have contact with the dead. This was well handled without descending into melodrama or attempting to bring in the supernatural. This was an interesting piece which left open spiritual matters and ultimately brought the drama very much to the on-going story of the living.
This was a very enjoyable evening and well lived up to a definition of 'Vignettes': brief evocative description, account, or episode, covering many different angles and scenarios. Consistently good acting and sharp direction.
Reviewer - John Waterhouse
on - 25.6.21
on - 25.6.21
No comments:
Post a Comment