UK Theatre Network

Comedy in theatre is usually a path to make the sad, dirty and cruel aspects of life more approachable. In suddenlossofdgnity.com, The Bush Theatre’s second commission for Latitude Festival, it is our very own, sad, and dirty aspects of life that are revealed.

Using examples from people writing in about their most humiliating, undignified moments, five bright young playwrights have compiled and composed a fun and light-hearted sketch show that whizzes through an hour and ten, leaving plenty of time in the bar afterwards with which to drunkenly re-live your own most tragic humiliations.

(left to right: Kathryn Drysdale, Felix Scott, Hugh Skinner, Katie Lyons ) 

For those of you that caught last year’s hit, 50 ways to Leave Your Lover, the format is the same. Two guys, two girls, and lots of laughs. This is real take-away humour, based on observations and clips; short, breezy and humorous. So when a real serious note hits us three-quarters of the way in, it feels a bit like a harpoon attack. We aren’t prepared to make the investment in the drunken character making a horrifying best man speech before us, so we find ourselves staring at our feet in discomfort.

The four young actors are put to their paces, working incredibly hard at their graft. Their energy constantly remains high and everything is attacked full vigour (possibly a little too much for the small Bush surrounds). Highlights include Hugh Skinner’s portrayal of a wannabe musician with a huge Westlife fetish and Katie Lyons’ outrageous clubber. Particularly memorable is Lyons’guitar serenade (I’ve never seen my brother blush a deeper shade of red).

The skilled singing and dancing proved these actors, can go further than simply pulling a one-line gag. A fun display of talent.

The Bush Theatre

1^st July – 15^th August

Book Online www.bushtheatre.co.uk

Box Office 020 8743 5050

Lots of love, or patience, control or manipulation?

Rosalind Adler takes us on an emotional rollercoaster, all too inevitable whilst ‘combating’ the use of online dating sites.

A one man band, she masterfully represents being 40 something and single, by humorously and bluntly reminding us of the different expectations and roles a woman may play whilst looking for love. From mistress, player to darn right, ‘missed the bus’.

I was very impressed by her ability to hold our thoughts continuously as we also listened to the male perspective through telephone messages as they advertised their desires. The performance was enhanced as Ros represented characters quite possibly found in a ‘Henley’ audience. Ros used the greatest respect and diplomacy whilst exploring the reality of relating sexually in confusion; the trials and tribulations of holding the other sex’s attention.

Enough to put you off dating sites for life, with a reminder of how much money you could save by not putting yourself out there, fantastic!

Written and performed by Rosalind Adler
www.rosadler.com
Directed by Kirsty Bennett
Kirsty.bennett@ymail.com
Stage Manager – Kim Agostino

Showing at the Henley Exhibition Centre
Dates: 20th July – 25th July
Start Time: 7.00pm
End Time: 8.00pm
Venue: Exhibition Centre
Tickets: £6.00

www.henleyfringefestival.com

‘Arina’-The reluctant tyrant in question, a poor servant girl, who marries into a family a class above her. Who then works tirelessly, to build a property and land empire, ruling her new family with a ‘velvet-glove’ that only a true matriarch can.

 

Spawning three sons, Steven, Peter and Paul, and expanding her empire, at the expense of all else, including her own salvation. The death of the prodigal son-Steven, makes Arina rethink her life and relinquishes her power, divides up the empire, to her remaining sons and moves out to seek a better life.

 

The ensuing collapse, deaths and hopelessness’ of her family to carry on the family empire, see Arina once again return to the head of the family, to save what is left.  The final scene of the play is Arina’s; played by Marie Mullen, Tour de force performance, and had me quaking in my boots.

 

Inspired by a 19^th Century novel – The Golovlyov family by Mikhail Saltykov-Shehedrin it emphasises the futility of greed and religious insincerity. Using the dramatic effect of playwrights such as Anton Chekhov, the long speeches and the characters physicality, help develop the underlying tension, and unsaid thoughts and dreams of all on stage.

 

The play set over a 10 year period, includes a large ensemble cast who all play their parts well. This all helps to establish an epic Brechtian feel to the piece.

 

Steven-played by Darragh Kelly gives a wonderfully extravagant performance, as the long-lost son, who has been living the life of excess for many years. The other two brothers; Peter played by Declan Conlon, develops a sinister and pious character, whilst Paul played by Frank McCusker as the under-valued son both play their parts well. One other fine performance, was from Anna played by Janice Byrne, a joy to behold on stage.

 

The play has a ‘Groundhog day’ feel, with events continually repeating them selves. Tom Murphy’s writing is epic, which makes the show nearly 3 hours long.

 

Tom Piper’s set, with large planks of wood towering over the stage, creates a very masculine back-drop, where only the strongest survive. These multi-layered sets have been seen in other productions lately namely: Solemn Mass for a Full Moon and Jason Byrne’s The Comedy of Errors. This helps to use the space to great effect, allowing the family ghost to re-appear as if to prick the conscious of the remaining characters. The lightening too, by Ben Ormerod, works magically to transform the stage from one scene to another.

 

Overall the show is an enthusiastically played piece, leaving you breathless at the end. The epic nature of the writing and acting, builds to a magnificent climax, where only the reluctant tyrant could survive.

Location:  The Abbey Theatre

Dates : 27 May – 11 July

Time: 7:30

Tickets: From €15-€35

Bookings: +353 878 7222

 

 

 

 

The word ‘Apologia’ we are told by the sharp, acerbic character Kritsen, is a defence, a justification of a belief; it is also the title of her memoir, which incidentally bears no mention of her two sons. During a birthday celebration the once fiery reactionary finds herself under the line of fire from her own children, forced to defend the choices of her past.

In his second play (after the huge success of ‘The Pride’ at the Royal Court six months previously) Alexi Kaye Campbell returns with a sensitive portrayal of a family’s past in his new play, ‘Apologia’.

Set around art historian Kirsten’s stylish bohemian kitchen, the domesticity of a family celebration is the perfect setting to scrutinize her past. The piece is full of humour, which emerges through Campbell’s structured contrasts; one son is a high powered corporate banker, the other a sensitive, out of work actor; one girlfriend a ‘vacuous’ soap actress, the other a wholesome, born-again American Christian.

In fact it is the delightful contrast in energy and pace between earnest American Trudi, and cynical cut-throat Kirsten that provides much of the comedy and impact to the play. As actresses, Sarah Goldberg and Paola Dionisotti play against each other brilliantly, creating strong and commanding polarised characters. 

Despite a slight dip in energy initially after the interval, it is the second half that fully explores the issue of parenthood. Campbell begins to unravel the authority and grace of a woman so highly revered in the first half. Described by her son Simon as more of an ‘absence’ than a parent, through his experiences Campbell captures the power of memory, and its lasting damage on family relationships.

Sensitively directed by Josi Rourke, ‘Apologia’ explores the sacrifices made by a parent, and the fall of a heroic and successful woman, whom Dionisotti embodies perfectly with controlled passion and dignity.

 

The Bush Theatre

Wed 17 June – Sat 18 July

Book Online www.bushtheatre.co.uk

Box Office 020 8743 5050

Little Boy written by Tommy Kearney , Directed by Steve Miller

Stage Management and Design by Sorrell Moore

Union Theatre till May 16th

 

An event that marks and shapes a generation is the thread that runs through Tommy Kearney’s Little Boy. Peace, being an ultimate goal, is an idea explored by the relationships presented through faith, action and empowerment.

 

Little Boy is set in a Merseyside Catholic girls high school and follows the events during the year of four friends confirmation and their reunion years later.

 

Suzanne (Siobhan Doyle), Lisa (Annmarie Hodson), Paula (Lianne Curtis) and Michelle (Victoria Denard) muddle through school work, personal problems and learn about their faith.

 

The girls are inspired by a young and idealistic teacher, Miss Clemson (Steph Parry), a fervent peace protestor and paper crane folder. Through her passion for her convictions, CND and Greenham Common, her students come to understand the wider world.

The mood of the eighties is nicely reflected through pop culture references, the use of music tracks such as Madness, and the hero worship of Suggs.

 

Kearney’s dialogue draws the audience in, taking them back to school days where taking the cane as punishment for transgressions also meant thanking the teacher afterward for the experience.

There were some nice character developments between Miss Clemson and Father Nick  (Howard Corlett). Pearl Marsland as Mrs Riley was both touching and terrifying.

 

Steve Miller’s direction and vision, made full use of the space. In a sense it seemed the play had been written with the Union theatre in mind. With minimalist sets by Sorrell Moore, the atmosphere of the school and church life was created.

An entertaining piece by a writer who knows his subject, Little Boy on at the Union theatre, Southwark till May 16th

 

Interiors  is a devised piece, drawing its inspiration from the 1891 play Interior by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck and marks a return to the Lyric for Vanishing Point, following the sellout run of Subway, as part of an international creative collaboration with Napoli Teatro Festival Italia and Traverse Theatre.

We all like actors to play the believable ‘fourth wall’, but when faced with an actual glass wall closing off the set to the audience, it can be quite disconcerting. The reflected faces of the audience in the glass partition set the scene for the voyeuristic journey we would be taking for the next hour and ten minutes. Without ever hearing the action, we indulged in ‘spying’ upon a dinner party on a cold, unforgiving night in a Northerly country, where residents have to take significant measures to protect themselves.

The show is slickly directed by Mathew Lenton – at all times the audience is looked after and directed through the action seamlessly by the deliciously teasing narration of Elicia Daly’s angel-like character, the only character to speak. Daly’s narrative allows the audience to really feel the moments of poignancy and to be moved; the actors don’t do all the work for us, but we have to get there by ourselves. On the whole the actors were wonderfully still and did not fall into the trap of over gesticulating or doing too much as compensation for not speaking.  The sparse use of the spoken word and the actor’s economy of movement encourage the audience to engage its own creativity – to sit up and take notice, and allow our imaginations to run wild creating stories of our own. 

Andrew Melville was superb – his stillness and subtly played gestures allow the audience to share in his moments of grief, happiness, sorrow and confusion. When engaging in spying, speculating is infinitely more satisfying than being spoon fed, and Melville allows us to speculate. The pace started to drag slightly towards the end, which is a shame because the stillness that Melville captured in the closing moments was captivating, and would have been more so had his stillness been contrasted by a speedier exit from the other characters.

The story takes delight in the mundane and shows us how extraordinary ordinary can be, and this is a major key to the success of the piece. Any of the characters could be us or people we know, so not only are we sympathizing and laughing at the actors but also with ourselves, relatives and friends. Indeed for just over an hour the audience becomes the most important cast member. We are reminded of the brevity of life and the curious preoccupation we develop in protecting ourselves and our interests - how human we actually are. The piece illustrates our hilarious quirks, and the moments of great humour are based on this identification with humanity. A must see.



INTERIORS
Lyric Studio, Hammersmith
21 Apr – 09 May
Box Office: 0871 2211722
Online: www.lyric.co.uk