Third year acting students of Arden Theatre School collaborated with local theatre company, Box Of Tricks, to bring this, a pot-pourri show of 6 specially-written short plays on a Christmas theme for the students to get their teeth into.
Performed in the smaller studio theatre, the stage was a simple composite set of a house wall interior with a door and window, whilst the main acting area was left bare with set items brought deftly and professionally in and out as required by the cast.
The six short plays were 'nAItivity' (Mitesh Soni), 'Twelf Night' (Marcella Rick), 'Saving Ron Perlman' (Billie Collins), 'We Free Things' (Daneka Etchells), '3:27' (Paddy Hughes), and 'Angel' (Testament); and were directed by either Hannah Tyrell-Pinder or Adam Quayle. This truly showcasing the northern nature of these pieces, since all of these creatives are from the right side of Birmingham!
One thing astounds me, and it is something that I find myself writing in almost every review of student work, is the fact that I cannot hear or understand much of what the actors are saying. Back in the day - ie: my days of training - we spent countless hours perfecting diction, clarity, enunciation, and projection. The most important tool of the actors' trade, we were told, was our voice. Breathing techniques and correct posturing was also taught to help the actor control the voice and delivery. I even remember with great fondness, having some lovely workshops with the great Cecily Berry herself. However, back to this show, and I deliberately sat on the back row of a small studio theatre, and was still unable to properly hear or understand much of the dialogue in the plays today sadly. The emphasis of what is taught during training has obviously changed. That is a real shame.
The six short plays were uninspiring and mediocre at best, but the actors gave them their best shot and performed as directed to do so, giving creditable performances at all times. Another problem inherent in these plays was that many called for the actors to play characters older then their own years, and this is one of the hardest things you can ask of a student actor. Playing their own age, playing younger, and indeed, playing caricatures of the very elderly, are within their reach; but playing people in middle age authentically is extremely difficult, and none of the actors this afternoon were truly convincing in this regard. Conversely, I should mention a couple of performances which did stand-out from the crowd a little. These were Stephanie Wallace's role as Mary (nAItivity), the opening duologue in 'We Free Things' (Rosie Kahlon and Theo Robinson), and the role of Bartosz in the same play, performed with obvious comedic skill by Tomasz Pietrasik.
The plays ranged from fast-moving farcical comedies to drama with real pathos, but with the exception of the final play, 'nAItivity', the plays were cut up into bite-size pieces and performed in a very confusing and obfuscating way, mixing them up as they went along and coming back to them half-way through another play. I am uncertain as to why this was decided, but it detracted rather than added in my opinion. The finale song, sung by the whole company, might also be considered a little unnecessary and not completely in the right spirit, as it was the only extraneous swearing in the whole show.
All-in-all, this was one of the least successful productions I have had the pleasure of watching from students at The Arden School since I started watching them nearly 10 years' ago! This was not however the fault of the students concerned in any way, and I do not wish to disparage or discourage their efforts or obvious ability.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 30.11.23
on - 30.11.23
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