“moments of light, sound and movement punctuate the changes of scene, mesmerising the audience”
In its first revival since 2003, Abi Morgan’s play ‘Tiny Dynamite’ is an echo of the original production but with a twist. Ten years after a traumatic event, which sends two childhood friends down very different paths, their annual summer holiday together is the scenario for confronting what has left them incapable of moving on and the secret of their dependency.
In this production, David Loumgair, who shows himself to be an exciting and innovative director, changes the gender of Lucien to a woman, Luce. This works well with Luce showing platonic concern and responsibility for her life-long friend Anthony. Both Eva-Jane Willis and Niall Bishop hold the audience’s attention as the layers of their story are peeled away by the appearance of Madeleine, played by Tanya Fear, the catalyst who sparks their buried feelings. However, the stated contrast between the two friends is belied by the character writing. The overly talkative nature of Anthony comes across well but the quietness of Luce is undermined by, quite simply, the number of lines she has, as well as the similarly placid Madeleine. But Luce’s ordered, conventional shell finally cracks in the most moving scene of the play, revealing the relationship’s true balance. Anthony, hit by lightning at the age of six, struggles with the internal static of his emotions and this creates his own hidden turmoil, cleverly enhanced by special effects.
The set by Anna Reid resembles that of the 2003 staging at the Lyric, Hammersmith – wooden decking surrounded by a moat of water, marooning the characters in their triangular relationship. Added to the beautifully economical handling of props, the use of water on stage is refreshing, although the moat could be used to more advantage. The minimalist music (Dan Jeffries) is in keeping with the set and subtly dresses the scenes, only once or twice becoming a distraction. Bare lightbulbs hang above the stage as an aesthetic presence and integral effect (lighting by Zoe Spurr). Coordinated moments of light, sound and movement (Natasha Harrison, Movement Director) punctuate the changes of scene, mesmerising the audience.
Since writing ‘Tiny Dynamite’ Abi Morgan has gone on to have a successful career writing for film and television, genres she says she feels more comfortable with. Here she infuses an underlying discomfort rather than the tension needed to capture an audience from the start. The concept of the title – tiny things sparking off huge reactions – is not altogether coherent and in the end the play is about knowing when to take responsibility for our actions and when to leave things to fate.
Despite some thematic inconsistency ‘Tiny Dynamite’ Is brilliantly executed with fine performances and artistic flair.
“some sparkling verbal sparring, and delightfully funny moments from the very beginning”
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”
Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare
These words, spoken by Cassius in ‘Julius Caesar’ are at the heart of J M Barrie’s ‘Dear Brutus’. A group of people have been invited to stay with a mysterious old man in a country house. They do not know each other but they have something in common. The butler warns them not to enter the enchanted wood, should it appear, but most of the group ignore him and venture into the trees. Will the experiences they have there change them?
In the first act we meet the characters, Lob is the eccentric host and Lob, in Shakespeare and folklore, is also known as Puck or Robin Goodfellow, a mischievous trickster. He has made it clear that the guests must be present for Midsummer’s Eve and they don’t know why. We discover that relationships between some of them are not what they seem at first. Not everyone is behaving well. There is some sparkling verbal sparring, and some delightfully funny moments from the very beginning as we find out more about these disparate house guests. There is the haughty Lady Caroline Lacy, the ladies man John Purdie, his long suffering wife Mabel, the flirtatious Joanna Brimble, the elderly Mr and Mrs Coade and the unhappy Will and Alice Dearth.
In Act two we are transported to the enchanted wood. Anna Reid’s design, Peter Harrison’s lighting and Max Perryment’s sound create the scene with a simplicity that is charming and effective. All the people who enter the wood are changed for a while, the world is turned upside down. Their relationships and fortunes are very different from their normal lives, but will they learn anything from the experience? Barrie also uses the device of transporting people from their real lives to a fantasy realm in Peter Pan and the Admirable Crichton. Whether the setting is Neverland, the site of a shipwreck or an enchanted wood, the opportunity to challenge his characters to live different lives for a while is one he seems to have relished. Perhaps some of the characters are given the chance to live their dreams, however briefly, but what will happen when they get back to their normal lives? In Act three we find out.
The cast are superb and so is Jonathan O’Boyle’s direction. It is such a beautifully performed tight ensemble piece that picking out one or two exceptional performances is difficult. However Venice van Someren’s Margaret almost moved me to tears, having also made me laugh with her Alice in Wonderland innocence and archness. Her scene with Miles Richardson’s Will Dearth, a very different man in the woods, was in some ways the very heart of the play. Emma Davies, Josie Kidd, Bathsheba Piepe, Charlotte Brimble, Helen Bradbury, Simon Rhodes, Robin Hooper, Edward Sayer and James Richardson are the other cast members, and they all deserve huge credit for their parts this jewel of a play.
The quote from Julius Caesar tells us that it is not fate that has made us who we are, or created our experiences, it is ourselves who have done so. But it is Shakespeare’s ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ that has influenced this piece with it’s enchantments and mix ups. What do we see when we enter the wood? A better version of ourselves? A happier one? Things that might have been, possibilities and second chances? Maybe, if we pay attention, the enchantment can give us the power to change. I hope that you will go and see this beautiful, bittersweet, moving yet very funny play, there is more to JM Barrie than the boy who wouldn’t grow up.
