Vignettes, produced by HER Productions, brings together six local female writers; some are
emerging, and some are already established writers. All six have written short
plays which were inspired by whatever they decided to write about.
The stage was set to accommodate all six short plays, and
the cast of the first act sat as observers or participants. First was ‘Bad
Tash’ written by Lekhani Chirwa, Chirwa is an actor, writer and theatre maker
based in Manchester. Born in Cumbria of mixed heritage she describes herself as
a queer working class and neurodivergent woman. Chirwa quotes that she is
passionate about telling her stories that reflect those within society that
often do not have a voice and her short play certainly depicted her ethos. ‘Bad
Tash’ is where we see a young actress full of reflection and self-portrait,
whilst struggling with her mental health. She believes the world is her stage
and connects with loss and trauma through her portrayal whilst struggling with
how she is perceived by others. Dealing with Bipolar and ADHD she has lost
touch with reality and where she is resident in a mental health institution.
The staff allow her to perform on her fantasy stage whilst on her journey of
recovery. Chirwa has cleverly written
this short play which tackles mental health and the internal traumas people experience
when trying to navigate through the world and the challenges we face. The play
was directed by Misha Duncan-Barry and performed by Tia Larsen (Tash) and
Janelle Thompson (Mental Health Worker). I thoroughly enjoyed this interactive
play which tackles some very important issues and was sensitively delivered at
the perfect pitch.
The second play was ‘Blink And The Moon Has Gone’ by Nikki
Mailer, an applied theatre practitioner and facilitator. The play is about a
couple Dalia and Isaac who mostly argue about a dead magpie. The play is
directed by Nadia Emam and performed by Stefanie Hammoudeh (Dalia) and Sam
Ebner-Landy (Isaac). The opening scene is where we see the couple on holiday
dancing to seductive music, which is then later reflected on by arguments. The
couple’s perceptions constantly differ from each other. There are snapshots of
memories and day/evenings out usually leading to a differing perspective. Dalia
is a Dr from Palestine and her husband is a Jew, there are a lot of
conflicts and debates between the couple but there is constant reference to a
dead magpie in the garden, the moon and the beach, all snapshots from memories
together. The play was a great example of complex writing with interweaving and
circular plots around the main feature of a dead magpie.
The final p[ay from the first act was ‘Hope Is A Thing With
Feathers’ by Alex Keelan, Keelan has been writing for the stage and screen for
over a decade and her works have been extensive in theatre, film and radio.
Co-creator of the Vignettes it is clear that this lady is an established writer
with her excellent portrayal of a young lady Nina O’Brien stuck in the world of
poverty with only hope to hang on to. The short play has high energy and intense
emotions of how a young college student is desperate to break the cycle of
single mothers, domestic violence and poverty, with huge challenges of
prejudice and judgement from others. Directed by Amy Gavin she has directed a
phenomenal piece of art with Leah Eddleston to display Keelan’s writing, the
script is heart wrenching as we see the desperation of the teenager navigating
through the challenges she is facing. We hear how her school teacher announces
she will come to nothing and is not good enough, this is such a familiar story
of how teachers and the education system can destroy youngsters, this play
resonates so much of my own experience where teachers in the '80s discarded any
child that came from a council estate in my school. In the present day everyone
of my peers who was cast aside for the privileged children have all become
successful and broken the cycle of poverty proving that if you are determined
against all odds you can succeed. This play perfectly displays that ‘hope’
costs nothing and it can be the thing that gets you through the toughest times.
Absolute 5 star writing from Keelan the emotional content of this piece was
outstanding and that hard-hitting you could hear a pin drop during the performance
as the whole audience was captivated by the intensity – phenomenal acting from
Leah Eddleston.
Act 2 started with my personal favourite of all the six
writings, ‘The Darker Side Of Birds’ written by Laura Harper, a very well-established
writer of over two decades. A distinguished and excellent writer Harper has
created the most outstanding short play directed by Noreen Kershaw, starring
Sarah White (Lisa) a professional actress known for her screen play in
Brookside in the 1980s, Sushil Chadasama (Rick) and Pat Brocklehurst (Rita)
another actress with a huge array of acknowledgements behind her. The play is
based around Lisa and Rita sitting on a park bench - retired Rita is an avid
ornithologist who studies every aspect of birds, including bird songs, flight
patterns, physical appearance and migration patterns and Lisa who is watching a
different type of bird - a female bird that is invading her territory! This
witty, intelligent, and brilliant piece of work shows Lisa cataloguing her
daily diary of her alienated cheating husband. Still living under the same roof
Rick tries to manipulate the situation to his own gains by proposing numerous
solutions for her to move out of the marital home. The conversation and
interaction between Rita and Lisa is hilarious but equally cleverly aligning
the ladies plights of bird watching. The plays conclusion is ingenious where
you see a fabulous twist and deserving finale, I applaud this stupendous piece
of work as it was definitely the highlight of the evening for myself and my
theatre companion. Outstanding acting from the cast as this definitely enhanced
the experience of this extraordinary short play.
Second was ‘Love Leftover’ by Steph Lacey, a lady who has
written over 20 bespoke stories for families to keep their children entertained
over the period of lockdown. Directed by Heather Carroll and performed by
Frankie Lipman (daughter) and Fiona Scott (mother). The play is based on loss,
grief, and regret, we see a typical mother / daughter relationship with some slight
bickering over a homemade jumper and the eating of goats’ cheese from the
fridge. They part after an argument and unfortunately the mother dies suddenly.
Her love for her mum is not complete and she is left with too much love left
over! Reflecting on regrets and wishing she told her she loved her mum, she is
thrown into despair, the play is intense and highlights the importance of
loving our cherished mums as we never know how much time is left with them so
don’t ever take them for granted. After losing my own mum recently I struggled
to watch this as it truly tapped into the grief and devastation of loss.
Finally was the short play, ‘Bones’, by Houmi Miura, a
Japanese-British female writer, theatre-maker and actor. Directed by Jen Tan
and performed by Adrianna Kei, Solaya Sang and Trisa Triandesa. The short play
is based around a traditional Japanese funeral where the grandchildren of the
deceased are completely westernised and unfamiliar with the language and
traditions of their grandmother’s ceremony. The play has issues of LGTBQ
especially around culture and acceptance, it also has some comedy moments of
complexity around funerals in Japan. This was not my personal favourite piece
although it was funny in places, I felt it was a little disjointed with too
many complexities in it.
Overall, we witnessed six short plays from six talented
ladies, well done to all involved.
Reviewer - Katie Leicester
on - 27.4.23
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