In need of something a little bit different for Christmas? Then do not despair; 'Bear left' currently running under the arches of Manchester's 53two, is the perfect feel-good antidote. Perhaps more a musical than anything else; although in essence it is a series of short plays which have been cleverly interwoven and compiled with much original music. It's not quite a musical, but it isn't an evening of short plays either, but whatever you want to call it, or pigeonhole it, it works, and works superbly!
Imaginality Productions (Ollie Mills and Simon Naylor) have, with the help of writers, Mohammed Barber, Emma Hinds, Steph Lacey, and Hannah MacDonald, and a superb cast which includes a heady mix of hardened professionals with many stage and TV credits to their name, and those just starting their professional journeys, pushing and pulling together as a true ensemble to bring us the stories of the lives of several disparate strangers who, by chance, or even by destiny, meet at a motorway service station on Christmas Eve.
The set, one of the best I have seen in this venue, was a composite affair of outdoor car park, seating area, indoor Starbucks and fast food restaurant (complete with jukebox) and metal steps leading up to a second level of further seating. This afforded the directors plenty of choices and the spaces were used creatively and effectively. The original music (Ollie Mills) was pertinent and very much in the Musical theatre genre, with all the cast having the requisite voices to sing the upbeat choruses and the soulful and heartfelt solos. The playlets themselves were modern, relevant, and cleverly interwoven, and the characters learned much about love, relationships, friendships, and as they learned a little more about themselves and help others, we too were caught up in their world, and sympathised greatly with them. There was only one thing which truly spoiled all of this, and that was the lighting design. Sadly the LX was very poor this evening, leaving many of the cast in either partial or total darkness when they should have been in the limelight; whilst the lighting was not strong and total enough in the daylight / indoor scenes. There was also a most unfortunate incident when one cast member was atop the highest seating area singing his solo and was backlit in a lilac colour, and all we saw was a disembodied silhouette of a head encased in lilac hue!
For this reviewer at least, there were a few favourite moments. And I KNOW I should not be subjective, but sadly, totally impartiality is simply not possible; and so please allow me to credit those performers who for me gave the truest, most sympathetic, and most delightful performances this evening, in amidst a sea of ensemble wonder-ness! Daniel Brennan's portrayal of a shy and gay choirmaster was precise and studied to perfection; whilst a struggling mum, bringing up a 15 year daughter on her own, a busy-body on her way back from a hen-party, and a lesbian couple (one heavily pregnant) all impressed. (Morag Peacock, Kelsea Knox, Alicia Ellis, Jasmine McIvor, and Hannah McDonald). Both Kenton Craig's and George Miller's characters were interesting as far as they went, but we wanted to see them developed more. The same is to be said for another of the cast who never truly interacted with the rest in any meaningful way, and we would have loved to have known more about her; the bored young lady behind the Starbucks counter (Rebecca McCauley). My favourite vignette however was a two-hander, which starred not humans, but two crow puppets. Superbly observed and the two actors voicing and handling the puppets delightful!
However, with a live 4-piece band cleverly 'hidden' in amongst the set, and a bright yellow mini the focal point; 'Bear left' has something for everyone, and is a delightfully heartening and rewarding theatrical experience for the festive season. And I shall never look at a motorway service station in the same way again!
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 15.12.23
on - 15.12.23
No comments:
Post a Comment