THEATRE REVIEW: Stan - Z-Arts Theatre, Manchester.

'Stan' is a play for three actors, which seems to try and cover too many modern social issues into their 50 minute running time. Advertised as being suitable for children of 7 years and uopwards is probably about right, although the subtexts of the play might well go over their heads. There is, however, a half hour free workshop at the end of each performance where the cast and company explore the themes from the play more fully.

On the surface, the story is quite simple: a young boy, Sam, is experiencing a break-up between his parents as his dad moves out and is left living in the family house with his mum. At only eight years old he is having difficulty with this, and his mum doesn't really know how to cope herself either. At school, he appears to be something of a loner, and stays away from the crowds at lunchtime eating his packed lunch [always the same.. cheese!]. It is here he meets another pupil; Alex, who also shies away from the crowds since she is deaf, and so has difficulty herself in making friends and feeling at home in a school full of hearing children. It is through their mutual love of dinosaurs that they strike up a friendship, and it is this friendship that helps Sam come to terms with his familial situation. 

It's a very worthy and important subject, and dealt with sympathetcally. Inclusivity being a large part of this production, the dialogue is projected onto the wall of the set throughout, and there is a large part of the production which uses BSL too. This part I found very interesting because it teaches the audience certain BSL words, and so can now confidently tell a deaf person, "sorry", "together", "apart", "dinosaur", and "T-Rex" - although making a sentence from those might prove more difficult! 

The format was rather static, and (perhaps because I am an adult) it was very predictable. It was a little long-winded though and took a while before the young audience started to react to the presentation. The computer-generated T-Rex was cleverly realised, and that was obviously the part in the play which most of the children will go home remembering. I enjoyed the gradual build in trust and relationship between Sam (Ross Thompson), and Alex (Alexandra James).

Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 12.2.22