ONLINE PLAY REVIEW: Prism

I have never attended a full length Zoom play before so I was eager to attend Prism, a new play from Production Lines, an Edinburgh based theatre company. Prism, written by Claire Wood, touches on some heated debate following a custody battle of a young little girl between her parents and one of her parents' PA. We, the audience, are also to become an important part of the plays journey, and using Zoom's full facilities we were able to dictate how events unfolded. What we were actually attending was a Children's Hearing, which is a Scottish legal and welfare system where a panel are integral to deciding on the best outcome for custody battles. We, the audience were the panel and where the story begins. I have to admit it did take me a short while to work out who was who, and what exactly was going on but I soon settled into my comfy at-home chair. The child in question is a little four-year-old girl called Storm and full custody was to be decided between her mum Natalya, her dad George, and her mum's PA Tzeporah. Storm would either end up with Natalya in LA, George at his Yoga Commune or with Tzeporah who was already looking after Storm and wanted to take her to live with her in Switzerland. 

In charge of proceedings is Amadeus, known as The Convenor. Alan Patterson, who plays The Convenor, does so with great wit, believability and comic timing as he encourages us, the audience, along by asking questions and even interacting with us personally via the Zoom group chat box facility. Patterson held his own throughout the play and definitely was the glue that held everything together. The storyline touches on memory, timelines and perception. How one person can view an event so very differently from another for various reasons. Vanashree Thapliyal who plays PA Tzeporah was very watchable, and played her role with much conviction, there was a real natural energy to her performance. Mum Natalya, played by Caroline Mathison, is clearly a versatile actress and had some meaty emotion to get her teeth into within her role. There was a lot of switching back and forth with timelines and each actor switched into new fresh shoes easily. Directed by Ross Hope, Prism held its own. Coming to us via Zoom it did have a little bump along the way technically, a little talking over lines and on a couple of occasions I wasn't sure if the actor I was listening to on screen was the one I should have been. However, in my opinion this is all part of the charm as I'm sure Technical Director Andy Ellis knew only too well when working with live technology, it made me feel truly part of the online experience and added that much loved realism to the piece. Zoom backgrounds were used to the full and costume changes were done swiftly and were nice to see. 

With many twists and turns Prism really is a fully interactive play and as the last two years have seen live theatre flip on its head, it is so refreshing to see theatre in the home. Yes, theatre is making waves again, and in my opinion, you really can't beat a live 'on stage' theatrical performance, but I'm hoping Zoom plays will become a thing of the future. With my free interval drinks and a very comfy chair it can make for its own special evening. All cast and crew of Prism are to be commended for bringing a story that really does touch on real life experiences into our homes. What is very special about this play is that each performance will be different due to the audience interaction at each show, the cast are kept on their feet using improvisation and spontaneity and the plot twist at the end that really does have us making some very important decisions is an excellent way of feeling involved in a play.

Prism is unique and takes full advantage of the technology at hand. I feel there may be more from writer Wood who seems to have a real knack for writing online productions.

You can watch PRISM online until 5th February with tickets available here

Reviewer - Mary Fogg
on - 3.2.22