Mikron Theatre Company's latest offering, 'A Force To Be Reckoned With', transports us back to 1952, with this delightful insight into women in the force from the pen of Amanda Whittington.
Mikron have been around for over 50 years now, and the reason for their longevity? Well, that's easy; they provide easily accessible productions for all ages that are both fun and educational. The company (usually a troupe of 4) travel mostly by barge (yes, that's right.. they also have to learn to navigate the canals and waterways of this glorious country of ours too!), and when the barge can't get to the venue, then the old reliable standby of a minibus will! Because of this though, their sets, costumes etc, al need to be minimal, light, easily handled and multipurpose. And because the productions invariably incorporate songs and music, the actors ned also to be able to play at least one portable musical instrument, and sing. The company perform mostly outdoors. Canal sides, pub car parks, or basically anywhere where they can set up and ask an audience to come along bringing their own picnic chairs with them, and so the cast will get used to performing in all weathers, and having to project their voices above the noise levels of whatever the great unpredictable outdoors throws at them! Mikron don't ask much from their cast do they?!
In this particular show, performed in the glorious midday sunshine in the courtyard of Manchester's Police Museum, the four cast members coped adroitly with the extraneous noises from moving empty beer barrels, noisy passers-by, cars and city drinkers. Voices were projected sufficiently, and we sat back to enjoy this tale of the WPC and the inequality that they endured.
In true Mikron style, the four cast members play many different parts between them, their characters changed by a hat, a scarf or sometimes nothing more than a different voice. And when they aren't speaking, they are more than probably playing an instrument for the song. It's a lively, generally upbeat production, and the history of how women first came to help out the men, to them being a recognised and significant part of the force was interesting and I enjoyed my history lesson. And with this being 1952, we also were given some lovely insights into policing methods and ideology of that time, with the help of a Quentin Crisp-esque type of character who informs for the police in order to be protected from the rougher elements of society who see him as a 'puff', which, in 1952, was illegal. This storyline being nicely introduced here to be developed further as a future play perhaps??
The four cast members - Eddie Ahrens, Hannah Baker, Harvey Badger, and Rachel Hammond - all deserve equal praise. They gave much to this show, and it paid dividend. Working well together, they found comedy, sympathy, and even some pathos within the script, and delivered a highly entertaining piece of touring fringe theatre. I started my own professional journey (many years ago) in TIE [Touring theatre-in-education], and so know only to well how hard a life it is to be continuously on the road, taking set, costumes etc with you. It isn't easy, but it can be hugely entertaining and rewarding too. My congratulations to the whole team, and wish them well for the rest of their tour.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 20/5/23
on - 20/5/23
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