UK Theatre Network

Unreal

The Customs House, South Shields, Tyne and Wear

Two of the North East’s leading ‘new writing’ producers have teamed up for a three year partnership to offer playwrights in the North East region various opportunities to develop and showcase their work.

The Customs House, South Shields and Cloud Nine Productions launched the project, last night, with a trio of brand new one-act plays from aspiring Northern writers, collectively entitled ‘Unreal.’

Each of the three plays are directed by Jackie Fielding and performed by members of a cast of four: Christina Berriman Dawson, Chris Connel, Tracy Gillman and Louis Roberts.

The overriding theme that runs through each of the plays is that things are not always what they seem.

In Second Most Disappointing by Alison Carr, a bickering step-father and daughter receive some ‘divine intervention’ at the foot of The Angel of the North and their relationship is changed significantly for the better with the help of an eccentric con-woman.

Double Nuts, by Louise Gallagher, sees a paranoid schizophrenic planning her escape from a mental health institute and finding love along the way.

And Mind Games, by Joe McLaughlin, chronicles a confrontation in a gent’s loo between two apparent strangers.

All three plays are original and engaging, as well as being extremely well-written. The performances are consistently excellent and completely believable and the direction is slick, skilful and pacey.

The set, designed by Molly Barrett, is simple and easily interchangeable to suit each of the  plays.

This innovative partnership has kicked off with a great deal of style and promise, and every indication is that the future of new theatre in the North East is in safe, capable and very talented hands.

Steve Burbridge.

‘Unreal’ continues at The Customs House, South Shields until Thursday 4^th June 2009.