STUDENT THEATRE SCHOOL REVIEW - RELIABLE FICTIONS Arden Theatre School, Manchester College, Manchester

 Written by The Arden Theatre's tutor Graham Lappin, 'Reliable Fictions' is a song cycle about life's relationships that could have been, had they only been written better!  As Lappin states, we all create our own reliable fictions on a daily basis, our stories, the ones that matter, but always our own versions of them. Love of course takes centre stage in the vast majority of these fictions of course. In fact, my main concern with this song cycle was that for it 65 minute duration (performed without a break) it became both quite predictable and very samey. Most of the songs were slow, considerate pieces, torch songs if you will, even when the tempo was upped slightly in a couple of the more jazzier numbers, the directing and the pace remained constant, as did the performers' thought processes. We longed for a little more than a simple walk across the stage to sit on the circular dais in the centre; we ached for the character to burst into a spontaneous run rather than the predestined amble that affected them all And we hoped to hear the band strike up a really cool up-tempo piece which went just a little faster than molto allegretto. However, all that being said, the music was harmonic, tuneful, and each song individual, working well with the performer or performers chosen to sing it. I loved the full company close harmonies, in fact, when they came, the harmonies in general were lush.

 Performed on a very simple set of a parquet floor and central circular dais, with the live band in a line behind but separated by both a small step and some clever lighting [the simple but effective lighting design pleased me throughout] they were always in tune and sounding great; just ever so slightly too loud at times, masking the quieter, more intimate moments of the soloists. Costuming was also kept to an absolute minimum, with the cast in generic blues and whites, although I would have liked, on a personal note, to have seen a little change to this for each character, perhaps by the simple addition of a feather boa, a hat, or a bag.

 The ensemble cast, comprised of third year graduating students of the Vocal Studies And Performance course at Arden Theatre School - namely - Sarah Bush, Cal Carlisle, Charlotte Collins, Mabel Cozens, Jacob Jones, Cherry Lam, Charlotte Lisgo, KImberley Scholes, Halle Thomson, and Emily Smith - they proved that acting people older than themselves with life's baggage was not beyond them, and although they did not yet have the maturity and experience to be able to give fully rounded performances, they made a brave and realistic attempt; whilst the cycle provided many opportunities for them to showcase their vocal talents whilst also giving them much scope for development.

 REVIEWER - ALASTAIR ZYGGU on 7.2.25