Sadly once again I am in a situation where called upon to review a production without programme, cast list or credits of any sort. What would it cost a company to produce a simple A% sheet with a list of creatives? Extremely annoying.
This, Manchester's Social Refuge, was a new venue for me this evening, and I arrived to find it not only was a cafe, but an LGBT bookshop too, with a large basement area which had been converted into a gig theatre space. Not at all ideal for theatrical productions, but stand-up comedians or spoken word events would be ideal in this location.
'Blavatsky's Tower' is a 1998/9 play by writer Moira Buffini, and is one that I have never seen before so again, another 'first' for me this evening. In this production by Morally?No Company the pace was set as really rather pedestrian throughout, and indeed it was only in the second act of this 120 minute play when, dictated by the writing, did the energies of this cast become apparent. The tiny oblong stage was hardly sufficient for the fighting and physicality which occurred at this time, but for me at least it was too little too late. The director obviously intended this piece as a 'slow burner' as we say in the profession, but such a an idea depends entirely upon the cleverness, talents and abilities of those tasked into presenting such a scenario.
The story follows a tyrannical but dying father - a blind architect, who, along with his three offspring, live in his own creation, on the top floor of a large tower. For fear of contamination with the outside world, he has never left this garret room, and for similar reasons, neither has his son and one of his daughters. The eldest daughter, Audrey has an unspecified job and is the only one to leave the rooms, bringing food, supplies, and money to keep the family alive. She therefore looks upon herself as the matriarch (in the absence of a mother) but she takes this role rather too sternly and becomes forceful and domineering. Her brother Roland it appears is very sensitive and is most probably suffering from Tourette's syndrome. The actor portraying this character this evening displayed sensitivity and understanding, giving the most believable and fully rounded portrayal in the cast. Her younger sister, Ingrid, is weak-willed but seems to have inherited some 'magical' power from her father (or at least she would like to believe this). However this may just have been a coping mechanism for her as she has been being abused sexually by Roland unbeknownst to Audrey for some time. This strange family's routine is interrupted by the appearance of a doctor, Tim Dunn, (struggling with his height and the venue's ceiling!) who tries to at first understand this 'Addams Family-esque' set-up, then, realising he is falling in love with Ingrid, tries to inveigle his way into their midst by treating the father (despite his protestations to the contrary), and after his death, by helping to arrange the funeral etc.
It's a very strange play, and peopled by characters which are very difficult to sympathise with. Not being familiar with the play or playwright it is difficult to comment on why the director made the choices he did in terms of setting and time period. The set however, did not work. 4 chairs placed together and facing out to the audience in the centre of the stage was contrived and weird. What were they facing? What were meant to represent? The arm chair was laughable sadly, and the use of the bare metal staircase to make entrances and exits not only lengthened every entrance but also made a clanging noise too. The lighting at the venue is minimalist in the extreme, but again, the director's choice of using a hand-held torch for some scenes seemed ill-advised too. And sadly, the 'blackouts' when the cast were required to clear the stage or set up for the next scene, were done in full view of the audience.
Vocally, the cast in general were not strong enough. Seated as I was on the front row, I was able to hear everything, but those to the rear would certainly have been struggling when their voices dropped, which they did frequently.
Overall a brave attempt at a rather difficult and obscure play but the pace was set very slow from the start and sadly it never truly came out of first gear the whole evening.
Reviewer - Alastair Zyggu
on - 21.7.25
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