Amelia Brown Archives - Page 10 of 23

★★★★

“a beautiful production of what will always be a fantastic story”

Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ is a classic masterpiece – one of my favourite stories – and this new adaptation by Lucy Shaw certainly does it justice. It is a brilliant narrative about youth and ageing, about the visual degradation caused by sin. When Dorian Gray has her portrait painted by her friend Basil Hallward, she wishes that it would reflect the passing of the years and leave her own skin unchanged. Little does she know this wish is granted and, hidden in her attic, the portrait becomes an ugly reminder of her age and sin.

The four actors rotate night by night between the parts – an opportunity for audiences to see the same story told with entirely different interpretations and dynamics between the characters. I saw Picture C. The cast are strong all round. Augustina Seymour is charming and tragically hopeful as Sibyl Vane, Stanton Wright too as Basil Hallward, has an openness and honesty that pushes the twisted relationship between Henry Wotton (Richard Keightley) and Dorian Gray (Helen Reuben) harshly into the limelight. This relationship is brilliantly created by Keightley and Reuben. She falls so immediately under his spell, becoming a changed product of his callous and unkind wit. Reuben makes a wonderful Dorian Gray – delightful and natural, witty and cruel and falling apart. When the characters are not in the scene, they play echoing narrative voices that interject from the edge of the action, mostly with lines taken from Oscar Wilde’s preface. Whilst this works well to set the scene and move the narrative on at particular times, these interruptions feel predominantly unnecessary and detract from the brilliant scene work happening centre-stage.

The whole production is beautifully designed. The set, by William Reynolds, is made up of two mirrors sloping from the ceiling, dusty and faded so that only half-reflections can be made out. One of these mirrors covers a pool of water which represents the painting, blue then red light running through it as changes. The shape of paint brushes can be made out on the wall and light bulbs hang like stars from the ceiling. Emily Stuart is responsible for the costume design which is striking yet cohesive. The actors dress in black – velvet or silk often – highlighted with golden embellishments. There is a wonderful luxury to the aesthetic.

This is a beautiful production of what will always be a fantastic story. Whilst the constant narration overcomplicates and interrupts, the piece is redeemed by the quality of its performers, as well as impactful design choices.

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

Photography by S R Taylor

Everything Today is the Same

Katzpace Studio Theatre

Reviewed – 26th May 2019

★★★

“there are some really exciting moments in this play … but the piece lacks consistency”

‘Everything Today Is the Same’ is set in a room. A room that its inhabitants haven’t left for as long as they can remember. They don’t remember much about the old place. Only that it was awful and it is safer in here. As one inhabitant rationalises: “Why did we get trapped here in the first place if everything was so wonderful out there?” But now the food is running out and one of them is getting a feeling like memory, and they have a decision to face.

Visually, the piece looks really cohesive under the watchful eye of Danäe Cambrook’s direction. The three performers are clad in blueish-green clothing, a colour scheme echoed in the rug and their food and drink. A yellow jumper and yellow washing up gloves add vivid pops of difference.

It is always difficult starting a play stuck in one place. As an audience we know there are really only two options, and the latter most likely can’t be explored until the end of the play. However, this is a really interesting – if not entirely original – premise created by writer E. C. Mason, but it unfortunately isn’t fully consistent in its construction. Mason creates alternative language for certain things, a lovely touch but it begs the question, why some words and not others? They lack the language for sex but have the language for almost everything else. Mason’s writing has a tendency to tell more than show – we are often being explained to – and this is something that translates into what is happening onstage. There is too much demonstration.

From the beginning of the play, Klara Kaliger, Esra Alma and Hester Tallack (the three inhabitants) are acting too much, sighing and sweeping, to create the normal of this space which they are stuck in. This is a wonderful opportunity to play with stillness and boredom onstage that is not taken. Later on, they suffer from almost the opposite problem. The energy when it’s there is really successful, but it drops too regularly between sentences making the dialogue feel stilted, losing its flow. The writing doesn’t help create this flow for the actors. Structurally it seems to go back and forth and as a result can feel repetitive.

There are, however some fantastic moments: the physical violence in the small space is incredibly powerful and claustrophobic, the stillness and time given to the recovery after this incident works really well. The problem of conflict in a limited space which no one can leave, is explored in a very interesting way and could be explored further. The new world game and the surrealism involved in that was another highlight, beautifully written and vividly created onstage. The relationship between the three is nuanced and moving, and the dark, morbid humour that they have developed towards each other in this space is a really interesting facet of the writing. I would love to see this pushed further.

Ultimately there are some really exciting moments in this play which explore conflict, language and friendship, but the piece lacks consistency both in its writing and in its performance.

Jermyn Street Theatre

Reviewed – 11th June 2019

★★★★

“a beautiful production of what will always be a fantastic story”

This is a beautiful production of what will always be a fantastic story. Whilst the constant narration overcomplicates and interrupts, the piece is redeemed by the quality of its performers, as well as impactful design choices.

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

Photography by S R Taylor

Pictures of Dorian Gray – C

Jermyn Street Theatre until 6th July

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Katzpace Studio Theatre

Reviewed – 26th May 2019

★★★

“there are some really exciting moments in this play … but the piece lacks consistency”

Visually, the piece looks really cohesive under the watchful eye of Danäe Cambrook’s direction. The three performers are clad in blueish-green clothing, a colour scheme echoed in the rug and their food and drink. A yellow jumper and yellow washing up gloves add vivid pops of difference.

Ultimately there are some really exciting moments in this play which explore conflict, language and friendship, but the piece lacks consistency both in its writing and in its performance.

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

Everything Today is the Same

Katzpace Studio Theatre until 29th May

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: