Category Archives: Theatre

Review, Key Change, Open Clasp, Battersea Arts Centre, By Hannah Goslin

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 out of 5 stars (5 / 5)

Key Change

Open Clasp

Battersea Arts Centre

Open Clasp, an all-women’s theatre company are doing and achieving wonderful things in the world of community theatre. Key change is a production based upon previous work with real women in prison – the aim to originally put on a piece of theatre to their peers, Open Clasp has now transferred it to the public with the use of actors.

Highlighting domestic abuse, drug addiction and the mediocre and difficult life sustained by women in prison, this clever company draws upon physical theatre along the use of staging, music and lighting to create violent scenes, verbatim stories and incidences with the ‘inmates’ role swapping to give power to the stories and breaking the forth wall and comical writing to cleverly cut the tension and emotional and powerful scenes.

The performers are excellent – ranging in ages, each one is physically able to move around the space and evidently enjoying doing so. They are also very clever to change their bodies, movement, voices and facial expressions to create different characters – some we hate, some we love. This is done in a way that when we hear the stories of each inmate, we forget when they showed us the wife beater or the times when violence in prison is rife.

Some of it is comical by breaking the fourth wall – we see times where the performers make it obvious that we are in a performance and play upon this for our amusement, but still never breaking character. There’s foul language and slightly rude insinuations but again these either helped with the comedy or pushed the boundaries of these true and horrifying stories.

Key Change is a beautiful piece of work. Open Clasp have given us the right balance in true life stories and issues with a hint of comic relief that is respectful and a truly wonderful piece of theatre. It challenges our stereotypes and beliefs of women ‘criminals’ and gives a sympathetic and realisation to the innocent and self-protecting reasons some of them have been incarcerated.

http://www.openclasp.org.uk/our_work/detail/Key-Change/83

Review Blackbird The Other Room by Kiera Sikora

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All photographic credits Kirsten McTernan

 out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

Set in an office break room, as unclean as their past, ‘Blackbird’ begins with Ray (Christian Patterson) and Una (Sophie Melville) on opposite sides of the small and intricate room, both wanting to speak whilst both unsure of what to say or where they can look.

With a firstly faltering light and some seriously uncertain small talk, a head-to-head confrontation begins between the two. They tell us of their past, how Una and Ray shared an illicit relationship which began and ended when Una was 12, and Ray 40, and how they both ended up here in Ray’s new life’s occupancy, after Una saw a photograph of him in a magazine. She tracked him down. And the past in put in front of them, staring at them in the flesh.

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What’s both horrendous and horribly beautiful about this play is how David Harrower has us question who the hell the victim is here. You see, Ray is not a monster- at least there was no sign of one at The Other Room for me. But his actions are undoubtedly monstrous. To abuse, a word prized from his own mouth by Una, a 12-year-old which has harmed her both emotionally and physically is evil. And there are more than a million of different kinds of evil in this world but I saw not just one on that stage, I indefinitely saw a few more. You see it seems that it is the cruelty of feelings that conjured up these horrendous events and emotional sky scrapers. Ray tells us that it was his genuine, non-tactical and uncontrollable desire to speak to Una. That ‘speaking’ lead to what they ultimately became. He would purposely look for ways and reasons to talk to Una not because he thought profusely about what she looked like naked but because he was emotionally attracted to her understanding of human feelings. Ray is likeable. Disturbingly likeable. You may well sit in the audience and see how he could be a very nice man to have a very nice chat with. He believes that Una ‘understood love’.

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But, for Una, it is that understanding of human feelings that could’ve been one of the ways in which she felt that she could and did love Ray. And it could’ve also been the reason why she thought he loved her too. From the beginning of the play we see that she is a girl who feels things on a deep and sensual level. That quality in a person is usually something that when discovered by somebody else can be a quality that helps them thrive together. But we can see here how that quality is what made her bleed for Ray. Una is delicate, a shadow of her youth who, though beautiful, is internally beaten. Seeing her at 27 with her heart pouring out of her mouth allowed us to see her as a 12-year-old. And seeing both her Ray (now 55) in the same room meant that what was put in front of us was two people who share a time that was both forbidden, but almost admittedly for both exclusively sometimes savoured.

This play is in very many senses difficult, wonderfully so under the direction of Rupert Hands who’s delicate and detailed direction compliments the script and its disorientating duologue of wretched honesty. It’s bright, bold and dissimilar design by Ruth Hall, with lighting designed by Alia Stephen and sound designed by Sam Jones commend the intricate space at The Other Room.

Christian Patterson and Sophie Melville are a credit to Harrower’s words making you throw your moral compass in a ditch and leave you wondering to the bar with no way of seeing what’s right and what’s honest.

Blackbird runs at The Other Room at Porter’s until Friday November 4th.

Prepare to be left in a concrete conflict of emotions.

http://www.otherroomtheatre.com/en/whats-on/seasons/autumnwinter-at-the-other-room/blackbird/
 
 

Review A House Repeated, Battersea Arts Centre, By Hannah Goslin

 out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

A House Repeated

Battersea Arts Centre

In a transverse stage, little set but two chairs and two hospitable hosts, A House Repeated is unlike any other show I have experienced.

Described as a game show piece of theatre, it was as if we were transported into imaginary cluedo. Acting in two teams, we made decisions as a team when faced with choices of direction and actions. With no idea the outcome of this experience, we willingly engaged in a comedic yet creative piece of theatre that could have lasted for an hour up to several.

Unfortunately for this company, two audience members of an older persuasion were not so open and left very quickly. While it would seem this would disturb the piece, the hosts were understanding, the other audience members made this comical and this helped to return to the ‘normality’ that we had been involved in. This was nothing to do with the clever on stage interaction, but a naivety of these particular members to the different between our traditional theatre and the more experimental and immersive theatre that is challenged today.

Beginning in control, we were told mostly what options were available for our movement throughout our imaginary building, we were also told what the building looked like and so little was left to us to decide. We began hesitate, until we realised that the options given to us were not the only options, giving us the freedom to think more for ourselves, warming up to the concept. This is until we were given the chance to decide ourselves. Hilarity and a range of possibilities were open to us, giving us slight control to what we wanted to see and where we wanted to be. Anything was possible and it brought a lot of fun and laughter.

We were given the chance to be a team but let our imagination run – enjoying the mystery and the joy of such an interesting and fun performance art.

Review Clear Cut OUT by Kimberley Pennell

After attending the last Clear Cut, I was apprehensive that its relocation to The Globe would negate a little of the intimacy it held in the tightly packed gallery space at MADE. Where the audience, sat at the knees of the performers, were close enough to catch every facial tic and viscera of emotion. Yet, by the end of the night, moving shoulder to shoulder with strangers on a makeshift dance floor, I felt the familiar sense of closeness. The new, rather more auspicious, platform, rather than forcing distance, allowed the artists to explore and subvert traditional space through both their work, and proximity.

Without introduction, two female voices, disjointed and distanced by static, swelled through the darkness. On a continual loop, the cycle of barely discernible phrases and jarring feedback quickly superseded the instinctive need to distinguish language and became a haunting norm, as if it were the voice of the space itself. Heightening the tension, paper aeroplanes poured down from above, which revealed, when unfolded, texts that were as tangled and mired in themselves as the surrounding soundscape. The experience was displacing, emphasised when the performer stepped into, through and over the audience, speaking into a megaphone, becoming the physical manifestation of the voices that both invited and rejected the act of listening, participation and belonging.

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Will Salter

 
The exploration of our transformative interactions space, whether physical, mental or negative, was articulated most convincingly by the poetry of Rosie Bufton. Her intimate portrayal of the truncating nature of prison, stemming from her work with inmates, details the devastation inherent in incarceration. The reality of the lives laid to waste in the “concrete womb,” are made apparent by her references to fathers, brothers and men, that without the possibility of a future, are left to languish inside the structure of the poem, even after we had finished listening. Bufton moved from the physical prisons, to the abstract, but no less damaging, emotional and mental prisons that are built by trauma, and policed by us. Moving and relatable, Bufton urges that despite how trapped we may feel inside our own minds, at least with self-agency, there is hope for breaking free.
 

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Turning Worlds

Turning Worlds, a complex, multi-disciplinary, and ultimately, beautiful performance – both visually and sonically – was so layered upon completion that it almost defies summary. Exploring and deconstructing the stiff structure of formal, and specifically, courtly, dance, Turning Worlds related the subversion of free and fluid movement to a revolt in wider society. The combination of music, spoken word, technology, video and dance worked in perfect symbiosis, culminating in something fresh, exciting and not to be missed.

The similar physicality of Livia Frankish’s clarinet performance of Three Ephemera posed, and answered, the question of how much a performer can give to a pre-constructed piece of work. Watching Frankish lean into her instrument, her chest ebb, her shoulders rise, her face articulating the emotion in each note, the act of creation appeared so intimate I felt voyeuristic watching. With a surprising amount of comedy she exaggerated the toll the piece takes physically to play, eventually superseding the voice of the clarinet with her own, almost tantrum like crescendo of notes, asserting the creativity and control of her interpretation.

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A Leap of Faith

Artist Robyn Hobbs took to the stage in what I described in my notes as a “dope ass Mrs Rotherham outfit”. With a heavily outlined nine-yard stare, the collaborative team of artist and band, lead by Ben Thomas, engaged in an elaborate call and response. Hobbs moved from frenetically painting, to enacting a progression of symbols and allegories that turned in tone with the seamless transitions of the music. The Leap of Faith alluded to by its various tropes, was sinister and wild in its expression, a literal and metaphorical precipice exemplified by the near edge of the stage. By the end, both band and artist declined into an entropic chaos, a stream of consciousness both verbal and aural that reflected a fall into a metaphysical madness, creating questions that lasted long after they departed the stage.

Particularly poignant was the collaborative dance and film based piece, Knots Cymylau. The film made visible the struggle of a body working through the trauma of mental illness. Heavy with the metaphor of its proximity to the cliffs edge, the camera work contrasted the vastness of the landscape, versus the macro shots of the body stretching and recoiling, emphasising the instability of identity anxiety with pulsating music and red screens. Especially when, perhaps unintentionally, it was followed by our compere’s poem, begun with repeated “shhhhs.” Reflecting the stigma that often dogs conversation of mental illness.

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Nevsky Perspective

Finishing, was the atmospheric, complex and full-bodied music of Nevsky Perspective. Pure vocals looped over industrial beats in an intricately layered soundscape that built and built, until its full weight settled into some sort of profound sonic experience. The set acted, not as a song-by-song showcase, but as an experience in its entirety, moving from hauntingly delicate moments to room engulfing sounds. A slow, aural burn that demands, and is truly worth, your investment.
As ever, no Clear Cut event is ever fully complete without the inimitable Will Salter. The vast spectrum of adjectives I could use to describe his performances will always pale in comparison to seeing the man and his extraordinary enunciatory prowess. Acting as the vessel for a DaDa-ist entity, his guttural and phonetic utterances stretched out of his body in a way that seemed improbable, and, despite our human mouths not being nearly as gymnastic, managed to get the audience shouting along before the first act had even started.
Clear Cut OUT is a unique event that manages to be both magnificently curated, yet totally organic. Consistently constructing programmes that offer a diverse range of experimental performance art, Clear Cut is an accessible and entertaining entryway into the fringe of local and national talent.

Find out more about the event here: https://www.facebook.com/CardiffMADE/

Or have a taster here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeQJ4MaIVtU

Props to Glyn Owen and Sarah Vaughan-Jones for the images.
Special thanks to The Globe, Sarah Vaughan-Jones and all contributors and performers for the organisation of this event.

Review The Weir, The Sherman Theatre

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Valerie – Orla Fitzgerald | Jim – Richard Clements | Finbar – Steven Elliott | Brendan – Patrick Moy | Jack – Simon Wolfe (C) Camilla Adams — at Sherman Theatre.

 out of 5 stars (4 / 5) The Weir is encapsulating.

On a blustering night deep within the mystic Irish countryside, even in the comfort of community, friendship and booze there is little to be certain of. Conor McPherson’s ‘The Weir’ is a triumph in story-telling, and under the masterful direction of Rachel O’Riordan is not only chilling but compelling.

There is an odd contentment in the solace of shared experiences, and at the Sherman Theatre, on stage or off, the atmosphere was electrifyingly fused – it didn’t seem so nightmarish to be sat with strangers on either side. O’Riordan’s direction is so seamless that it thrusts and drags and clasps you into submission, before any digestion of what is happening. The audience were left desperate, grasping at any silence that could be appropriately filled with laughter.

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Finbar – Steven Elliott | Valerie – Orla Fitzgerald (C) Camilla Adams — at Sherman Theatre.

To perform a piece stepped in Irish heritage and folk-law to a metropolitan audience in Wales’ capital, and have it received so graciously is a testament to its actors and their craft in story-telling. It is a two-sided agreement in which audiences must venture beyond ‘Les Mis’ and ‘Grease’, and all that inhabits their comfort zone to access unfamiliar culture. And, equally responsible, the Sherman Theatre, as well as various other art centres within Wales are evolving the country’s arts scene, in their community events and outreach programmes; offering a way out of our ostracised communities, and incestuous thinking.

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Jim – Richard Clements | Jack – Simon Wolfe (C) Camilla Adams — at Sherman Theatre.

In Simon Wolfe’s execution of Jack there lies a particular tactful ferocity and subtlety. He is not once stereotyped or pre-empted, he is a man with principals, honour, and regret. Orla Fitzgerald as Valerie is wispy and engaging and proves less is more in her self-contained torture. She is humbling to watch. As a cast, Richard Clements, Steven Elliott, Orla Fitzgerald, Simon Wolfe, and Patrick Moy are sublime, generous and wholly complimenting as one. As each character took to share their own story, all around them would soften and their faces would become beacons in the darkness – you would go everywhere with them.

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Valerie – Orla Fitzgerald | Jack – Simon Wolfe – Brendan – Patrtick Moy (C) Camilla Adams — at Sherman Theatre.

Designer Kenny Miller’s staging is bare and simplistic offering comfortability in a no clutter/bull shit ruling for the piece.

The Weir is truthful and raw, and is exactly what is needed to counter-act any audience’s consuming of ‘TOWIE’ or one of the many Kardashian spin-off series. It is a classic of contemporary theatre; empathetic, voyeuristic, and unnerving.

The Weir will be playing at the Sherman until the 22/10/16. It then transfers to the Tobacco Factory in Bristol 25 Oct -05 Nov 2016.
http://www.shermantheatre.co.uk/performance/theatre/the-weir/

ARCHIVE: The Weir


 

Interview with Assistant Director of The Weir, Chelsey Gillard.

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Chelsey Gillard

Get the Chance Young Critic Lauren Ellis-Stretch recently got the chance to chat to Chelsey Gillard Assistant Director of The Weir currently playing at The Sherman Theatre. They discussed her journey and experiences as a young director, generous tipping of bar staff, and the basis of the show itself.

What is the Weir about, for you?

‘Ahh -this is such a tough question. The Weir is such a multi-layered play that covers so many huge topics – the supernatural, grief, the depopulation of Rural Ireland, love…. the list goes on. At it’s heart I feel the play is about the ways we connect with each other as human beings and how we chose to relate to the natural world around us. Little acts of kindness play a huge role in the script and I really think it is telling us to do those things for others when we possibly can.

Through what training and experiences have you come to be an assistant director at the Sherman?

‘I applied to be the assistant director and had to attend an interview. Before this I have directed my own work and also been an assistant director for various venues and directors. This is my first time working at The Sherman on a main stage production. I studied English and Drama at university, all through my degree and in the two years since graduating I saw as much theatre as possible and tried to meet as many directors as possible to ask their advice on how to do what they do. Before that I was also a critic – a great way to see shows and think about them in a considered and logical way.

A video of Chelsey Gillard and Rachel Williams presenting at the National Rural Touring Forum on Bridgend Young Critics Project.

How did you prepare yourself for the role of assistant director on this piece?

‘I read the play – many, many, many times. I made lots of notes on the play looking for any parts that were of particular interest to me. The play takes place in a bar so I also made notes about who had what drinks and who paid for each round and other details that would be useful in the rehearsal room. As the play is also set in Ireland I did a lot of research about the kind of area the characters live in and the folklore that is mentioned in the play.’

Do you have an impressive ‘bar’ story?

‘Oh, I’m not sure. As a young freelance director I have to sometimes work other jobs to help pay the bills, so I will sometimes work as a bartender for one off events. When I was working at a really posh wedding the father of the bride decided he liked me – as my name is the same as his favourite football team. So thanks to my name I left that wedding with a crate of the most delicious red wine I’ve ever tried as well as a great tip!’

Is there anything specific you have learnt and will take from your time working on this play?

‘I’ve learnt so much watching Rachel O’Riordan the show’s director and Artistic Director of The Sherman Theatre in the rehearsal room – she is just amazing! It’s been great to see how to usefully bring lots of research into the rehearsal process in a way that is useful to the actors. I’ve also never worked on a stage the size of the Sherman main stage so that has been a really good chance to pick up tips on how to make a show feel really intimate even when it’s in a big space.’

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Artistic Director of The Sherman Theatre and director of The Weir  Rachel O’Riordan (centre) with the cast of The Weir in rehearsals.

The Weir will be playing at the Sherman until the 22/10/16. It then transfers to the Tobacco Factory in Bristol 25 Oct -05 Nov 2016.

http://www.shermantheatre.co.uk/performance/theatre/the-weir/

ARCHIVE: The Weir

Review ‘King Lear’ RSC Live by Danielle O’Shea

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 out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

King Lear follows the story of a king who loses power to two of his daughters after banishing his other, his realisation of the wrongs he has committed and his eventual fall into madness and wisdom. It is a timeless story of family, loyalty, how power corrupts and the definition of insanity.

Doran’s interpretation of a Shakespearean classic is ambitious from its minimalist setting to its total reframing of some of Shakespeare’s most iconic villains. As stated in his pre-show interview, Doran saw the play as more political and as a discussion of the human condition. This is evident when he sacrifices some of the family dynamic to give these themes more support; this can be seen when he portrays the characters as ideas rather than as complex individuals.

A talented cast all shone through in this production but particularly Nia Gwynne, as Goneril, who portrayed the character as far more sympathetic than any other performance has. Along with this, the live streaming of the event allowed for quick and easy access as well as the inclusion of events such as the interval feature on the costume design for the feature which reflected the lavish lifestyle and transitions that the characters go through stunningly.

All together a dazzling interpretation of a classic reimagined for such political climates as ours. However, in the first half there is a particular imbalance of light and dark as the attempts at humour often seem out of place but order is restored in the second half leading to a dramatic and satisfying finale. This seemed to be the perfect introduction to such an old and intricate tale.

RSC Live: King Lear
Vue Cinema, Swansea
12th October 2016
Author: William Shakespeare
Director: Gregory Doran
Design: Niki Turner (Theatre Design), Tim Mitchell (Sound Design), Jonathon Ruddick (Sound Design)
Technical: Hannah Miller (Casting), Carl Root (Production Manager), Ed Parry (Costume Supervisor)
Cast: Anthony Sher, Nia Gwynne, Kelly Williams, Natalie Simpson, David Troughton, Oliver Johnstone, Paapa Essiedu, Antony Troughton
Producer: John Wyver (For Live from Stratford-Upon-Avon), Zoe Donegan (Creative Team)
Running Time: 3hrs and 30 mins
Danielle O’Shea

Review ‘Mamma Mia The Musical’ Wales Millennium Centre by Sarah Debnam

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Mamma Mia the musical opened at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff this week and the buzz and excitement surrounding it meant that expectations were high.

Let’s start by saying the show began as expected, with Sophie posting the invites for her wedding to her three potential fathers, showing determination and emotion as she did so, a perfect opening scene and introduction to one of the main characters. We were also introduced to Lucy May Barker’s singing voice and what a voice! Brilliant!

We then meet Sophie’s friends, Donna and her friends and the other main characters, including Sophie’s Fathers. All of whom I think we’re perfectly fitting for their roles. Especially Donna. Sara Poyzer that plays Donna, had a hint of Meryl Streep in her energy, however a phenomenal voice to carry those fantastic ABBA songs to every corner of the room, and have every person there enthralled.

As the story moves on we were treated to classics such as ‘Money, Money, Money’, ‘Lay All Your Love On Me’, ‘Our Last Summer’ and of course the entertaining ‘Does your Mother Know?’ Which happens to be one of my favourite parts in the film, and Emma Clifford that plays Tanya did it justice. Also the men showing off their dancing skills and choreography was outstanding, especially Louis Stoical who plays Pepper with his jumps, energy and humour!

It’s worth noting the simple but very effective scenery and spectacular costume designs, as well as the incredible orchestra really bring the whole thing together.

Of course the show had to find its ending sadly and even though it’s hard to compare the stage show with the film, the wedding preparation and wedding certainly lived up to expectations, ‘Slipping Through my Fingers’ no doubt caused a few teary eyes and certainly felt like a special moment.

The party like atmosphere at the end had everyone up from their seats dancing and singing along to ‘Dancing Queen’, inhabitations lost and I’m sure everyone left that room feeling great!

The audience were clearly hooked from beginning to end, with oohs and ahhs and plenty of laughter, the cast did an absolutely amazing job of entertaining everyone last night, and even though the film was a hit, this show was funnier, livelier and had more energy. I can understand the buzz surrounding Mamma Mia now, and might even try to catch it again before it leaves Cardiff!

Review Bouncers Black Rat Productions by Helen Joy

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 out of 5 stars (4 / 5) Absolutely outstanding!

4 men, bouncers, take us through the trials and tribulations of life on the door.

It’s funny, it’s much harder to write about something worth seeing, worth talking about. Why is that?

Is it because we are naturally more gifted at criticising than complimenting? Well, here goes.

Let me think: anything I don’t like? Nope. Anything anyone around me doesn’t like? Not that I can tell. An awful lot of cringing though; a lot of us are wincing at the characters as we see ourselves enacted, exaggerated, ridiculed – our past lives revealed in all their glory..

How do they know how women behave in the Ladies? Eurgh that is painful to watch. But we laugh till our sides ache. I am sure the men in this packed audience feel the same about themselves. I can see eyes narrowing and teeth bared in the grimaces of ‘ooh I’ve done that’.

Some really nice touches – the bouncers are in role at the doors of the Institute and the bar is open, with plastic glasses to take our wine in with us – a la nightclub!

The set is deceptively simple and lights and action flick cleverly between scenes, from dance floor to pavement to lavatories.

The bouncers are mimics, their grasp of personalities male and female perfectly belied in their body language, mannerisms, speech and form.

But it is not all lads on a night out, girls on the razz, bouncers doing a job; there is a darkness to all this light bouncing off the glitter-ball of life.

There are some very clear messages. Some clearer than others and pronounced with some pathos through our senior bouncer’s speeches (he makes 4). Lucky Eric, he isn’t.

It’s about tempers and frustrations, sadness, loss, the impact of antisocial jobs on our lives, the careless sex after careless imbibing of the demon drink.

It is using humour to make us listen and think. It is a play which shows us how so little has changed, each generation must find its way through the social challenges of finding, and keeping, a partner.

It tells us about the power of alcohol to affect our emotions, our sense of personal responsibility and our sex drive. It is about the consequences of actions taken under the influence.

We are forced to reflect on the nice girl, Susie, eating her pizza whilst being humped against a wall at the back of the club. Not so funny.

It winds down, like the party it is, to the point where we are all ready to go home.

Laughter, reminiscence and social commentary – the simple bear necessities of life have come to us. There is much to talk about.

Deserves to be on the London stage. The Abigail’s Party of Blackwood!

http://www.blackratproductions.co.uk/bouncers-2016/

Cast

Gareth John Bale
Sam Davies
Ross Ford
Morgan Hopkins

Production Team

Writer                         John Godber
Director                      Richard Tunley
Designer                    Hilary Statts
Lighting Designer     Robin Bainbridge
Running October to November, please check Black Rat Productions website for details.
 
 
 
 

Review ‘Aberystwyth Mon Amour’ Lighthouse Theatre Company by Martin Chainey

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 out of 5 stars (4 / 5)
 

When you think of Aberystwyth, do you see a university town, home of the National Library of Wales, and guest houses along a pebbly beach front? I’ll bet you don’t think of sinister druids, sleazy nightclubs, mysteriously missing schoolboys, and 24-hour whelk kiosks. Welcome to the world of private detective Louise Knight, with his raincoat, fedora and smart-talking gumshoe drawl. And say hello to a wickedly clever mix of Film Noir tropes and an affectionate ribbing of Welsh traditions.

I first read the original novel of Aberystwyth Mon Amour several years ago, and remember falling in love with the characters and the slightly surreal humour. I admit I wasn’t entirely convinced this would work so well on the stage. After all, the story takes place over a period of time in a variety of places, and features a wide cast of characters (including seaside donkeys). Most of all, I was concerned an adaptation might dilute some of the humour of its writer, Malcolm Pyle.

I was relieved to find the script has been written by the author himself, and none of its wit has been lost in translation. The dialogue is still as sharp and funny, and the story has been cleverly tweaked so that events all take place within a 24 hour period. The 20-odd characters are played by a small cast of eight. Rather than this coming across as a weakness, it actually works to the production’s advantage, adding to the playful tone. Yes, we might spot the same actor with a different costume and accent, but the characters are so likeable and well-played, you can’t help but go along with it.

As for the frequently changing scenes, a special mention must go to Simon Scullion and the set design, which is both ingenious and surprisingly minimal. By simply moving three objects on the stage, rotating them, or changing the lighting, different settings are created quickly and effectively. I totally believed I was in Louis’ office, an amusement arcade, on the seafront, in a nightclub, and even in the cockpit of an airplane. And I have to say, this was the first time I’ve seen a scenery change get its own round of applause from the audience!

Aberystwyth Mon Amour is an intelligent and witty production, which the Lighthouse Theatre Company should be very proud of. A wonderfully bonkers plot and script, clever directing and production design, and a cast who all give top notch, straight-faced performances that really bring out the humour. The audience was certainly responsive to it, and clearly had a great time. Other comedy thrillers take note – this is how it should be done.

Aberystwyth Mon Amour

Company: Lighthouse Theatre Company
Pontardawe Arts Centre, 8th October 2016
Author: Malcolm Pryce
Director: Abigail Anderson
Design: Simon Scullion
Cast: Matt Addis, Llinos Daniel, Phyl Harries, Catrin-Mai Huw, Non Haf, David Prince, Sonia Beck, Adrian Metcalf