UK Theatre Network

It’s only a bloody play. What harm could it possibly do?

LINES is the first production by new writing collective Littlewit, a group or writers and directors committed to providing opportunities for the performance and development of new writing. If LINES is typical of Littlewit’s work it is worth seeing everything they do.

Director Thomas Martin stages LINES in a rehearsal room which is almost empty except for two chairs and a board (design by Katie Bellman). The actors do warm up exercises before the performance begins. It is a very appropriate setting because we are going to see a play about the theatre, or to be more precise about the responsibility of theatre.

An actor has been murdered. He was stabbed by Terry Stein, the police officer who he was portraying in a play about the Ian Tomlinson incident. Robin, a seasoned writer of verbatim theatre, had interviewed Stein and a police sergeant as part of his research for his docudrama Ian and Bill . Although Stein was only a witness to the Tomlinson incident the writer singled him out and used him as comic relief in his verbatim drama, carefully selecting those parts of the interview that he considered especially ridiculous. The director and the actor, Michael Kinney, made sure that they got their laughs during the fifteen minutes the Stein character featured in the play.  

James Fritz asks very important questions in his drama. Is it acceptable to drag an ordinary person into the limelight, disregarding the fact that he might not be able to cope with being a public figure all of a sudden? How far should docudrama or verbatim theatre go? Docudrama engages the audience more than a documentary. But at what price? 

All five actors are on the stage all the time. Their characters tell their stories while the others listen. Michael Kinney’s parents talk about their son’s acting career and their feelings about his death. Richard Ward is excellent as the victim’s father when he sadly explains: “Your whole world changes when you lose a child.” He cannot understand why his son was a victim of a hate crime over a play! Jeryl Burgess gives an impressive performance as the actor’s mother as she fondly remembers his first successes including the TV series Doritos – “about the difference between men and women”. Ian Mairs is outstanding as the playwright who refuses to accept any responsibility and tries to distance himself from the event. The director of the play (Carl Knighton) does not feel responsible either, he was just helping one of his actors to find the character. John Canmore is defensive and accusatory as the Sergeant who persuaded Terry Stein to partake in the interview in order to show the police force in a good light.   

Please see this wonderful production before it closes.

Until 27th November at 7.30 pm
Tickets £7

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