“‘Khon’, written and performed by Michael Phong Le, is the standout piece of the programme”
The New Diorama’s ‘Taking Flight Festival’ consists of three new plays by emerging writers from the British East Asian, South Asian and South East Asian communities. ‘Clarissa’ by Lekha Desai Morrison is the opening piece. “It’s five o’clock somewhere,” declares Jasmine as she flicks through recipe after recipe in a pink dressing gown, trying to decide what to cook at an upcoming barbeque to impress her fiance’s mother, Clarissa. But Clarissa has other ideas, and much to Jasmine’s surprise, a sound at the door heralds the arrival of Clarissa herself. This is a play that discusses similarity and difference in an entertaining and charming way, as an apparent clash of cultures gives way to the realisation that they have more in common than they expected. The opening monologue lands most effectively (particularly in terms of comic effect) when it is directed at the audience, but these moments are few and far between. Instead its direction seems random, neither engaging with us directly but at the same time not engaging with the world of the play either. Warmly domestic, the script is a little simplistic compared to the later two, and the characters are played in too much of an overblown manner to be truly convincing. A more subtle and domestic approach to this might’ve given the piece the intimacy necessary.
‘Khon’, written and performed by Michael Phong Le, is the standout piece of the programme. Voted most likely to end up in prison in his school yearbook, Michael has always found it hard to tread the line between the rigid, rule-abiding British society which he has been raised in and his more chaotic Vietnamese heritage where they even have a word for bending the rules: “khon”. But as he does his best to prove he is equal, that he is “a good immigrant”, his family are involved in a very different way of life. A story about family, dichotomous cultures and love, ‘Khon’ is funny and moving in equal measure. Cleverly constructed, Le knows how to strike the balance between playful and serious and he does so masterfully, and the piece is supported by a strong and likeable delivery.
‘Taylor Swift’s Dog’ is the third and final piece of the evening, written by Samuel Daram. YouTube vlogger Yazmina is writing her first fantasy novel. At the other end of the spectrum, literary agents are rejecting authors with foreign names in favour of celebrity written reads. This is a piece that screams potential but is unfortunately unfulfilled. The scenes at the literary agency feel overly long, particularly as they are quite repetitive in nature, and we get the picture early on. A vital point about the industry is being made, but if it is made too many times it quickly loses its impact. Whilst the genre of satire works really well, it is almost not satirical enough, so that the final jump feels so unexpected that it takes us out of the narrative. Some development could make this piece into the smart satire it strives to be.
‘Taking Flight Festival’ is a night of clear talent, entertaining, varied and nuanced.
Bare Essentials is essentially one of the most refreshing pieces of theatre to see in the heart of the West End. It aims to bring new writing to Theatreland, where exciting pieces of theatre are not only directed well, but also performed well.
Sometimes less is more, and this show is exactly that as there are no fancy sets, no flashing lights and no special effects. However, what makes Bare Essentials so special, is the incredible talent that is produced on such a minimalistic stage.
In under 2 hours, audiences were treated to 6 different performances, all lasting around 15 minutes and Stephen Kennedy’s ‘Should’ve Gone To Lourdes’, was a great way to start the show. The performance begins with two brothers arriving at a brothel in Amsterdam, where Chris is anxiously waiting for his appointment. He soon fears that things might not go according to plan as he is in a wheelchair, but his brother Brian reassures him and even jokes that he might get a discount because he’s disabled. Just before Chris goes in, his phone begins to ring and it is his Mum. Both boys begin to panic and Brian wonders if their mum has put a GPS tracker on Chris’s wheelchair.
This excellent piece of writing was outrageously funny and both actors, Eddie Usher and Edward Bell, performed brilliantly. This was very entertaining and it was a shame that it was only 15 minutes long. Bold, engaging, and funny, Kennedy’s hilarious new play has the potential to be very successful in the future.
Chekhov’s Gun written by Ben Beck, was not what I expected. Duncan Mason delivered an incredible performance as a young man who wanted to explore the possibilities of using a pistol on stage. He repeatedly said that the gun will be fired and someone in this theatre will die. Of course this didn’t happen, but Mason did an excellent job at convincing the audience that this could actually occur. What’s more, is that he soon begins to show concern over the shootings that have recently taken place in schools, malls and movie theatres, almost highlighting how horrific gun crime is in today’s society.
Towards the end of this piece, he puts the gun to his head and is soon dragged off stage, where a gunshot is then heard. Although this is very distressing and at times very uncomfortable to watch, Beck is highlighting a very important theme that needs to be addressed.
Roommates by Matthew Fowler was by far my favourite piece of the evening, as its clever concept, hilarious one-liners and brilliant acting made this very enjoyable to watch. Both Rebecca Hutchins and Phoebe Batteson-Brown, were excellent at playing unborn twins who were annoying each other in their mother’s womb. Molly reveals how she is fed up of her sister “hogging the placenta,” whilst Emily is annoyed at her sister for using the “umbilical cord as a skipping rope.” This hilarious play made me laugh from start to finish and I was very impressed with how well this was written. Being a twin myself, this certainly made me reminisce about the times my sister and I would deliberately wind each other up. Fowler has done an extraordinary job at writing such an innovative piece of theatre and deserves all the success that I’m sure this play will receive.
Overall, Bare Essentials is a great opportunity to see fresh new writing, where you can be laughing one minute and gasping at the next.
