Tag Archives: Arcola Theatre

THE BAND BACK TOGETHER

★★★★

Arcola Theatre

THE BAND BACK TOGETHER at the Arcola Theatre

★★★★

“a brittle and elegaic exploration of music, melancholy and missed opportunities”

When the band gets back together, there’s always going to be more to unpack than a muffled snare drum and a spare plectrum. The inventory will inevitably include revelations, regrets and ruminations on the roads not taken.

So it is for Elle, Ross and Joe who have lived a lifetime since their Salisbury-based trio cut a swathe across Wiltshire and surrounding counties. They were young then, and carefree. They return for a reunion gig in their 30s, but reluctantly, for they are different people now.

Barney Norris writes and directs The Band Back Together, a frequently funny, often mournful and never less than engaging examination of that rare and ephemeral thing – youthful friendships – and why they can never last. While the piece never hits any true emotional heights – the music doing the heavy lifting here – the pace never flags.

Joe (James Westphal) is the instigator of the reunion, prompted into action by a charity gig to raise money for the Salisbury Novichok poisonings of 2018.

They worry no one will remember that time when the cathedral city became the centre of global geo-political wrangling. They worry more, of course, that no one will remember the band (although they assure themselves that a 5pm start will guarantee a decent crop of 80-year-olds).

Joe is the one that never got away, staying in Salisbury all his life. He claims to be happy despite his agitation. Joe is abject with Westphal capturing the tics of someone living the wrong life in the wrong skin.

His first encounter with poised Ellie (Laura Evelyn) is an excruciating and often hilarious masterclass in awkwardness. It’s all mistimed fist bumps, angular hugs and bad taste banter that used to work but now hits hard. Cold coffee and cold comfort inform their tentative investigations into each other’s lives as they struggle to find rhythm.

“That’s depressing,” becomes Ellie’s wry refrain as Joe tries to convince her that everything worked out perfectly. Her own life – trying for a baby, settling down – is not without its troubles but Evelyn gives Ellie a playful air, smoothing the fragments of her distress.

Ross (Royce Cronin) is the third member of the band, arriving late. Like Ellie, he also escaped. He made it as a minor musician so, in this crowd, he can afford to be louche, provocative and arrogant. Cronin finds the sweet spot, never letting us cast him as villain.

Magically, this tense and feisty sparring melts to nothing when the band begins to play. In a nice touch, even their conversation becomes more poetic when spoken through a mic.

Credit to the versatile performers, the musical interludes are handsome and accomplished. The actors play live, and exceptionally well. In Arcola’s plain studio, with cables and stands, littering the space (Becci Kenning), it’s not difficult to imagine the sweaty-bricked backdrop of a pub rock venue in “Warminster and Trowbridge” where the band hit their heights.

Music has the power if not to heal the wounds at least provide relief. Then it’s back to the rigours of conflict. It turns out the trio can master the drums, keyboard and guitar but it is that pesky triangle that will be their undoing.

The Band Back Together is a brittle and elegaic exploration of music, melancholy and missed opportunities. This compact production, with three vital performances at its heart, will strike a chord with anyone who left themselves behind in order to grow up.


THE BAND BACK TOGETHER at the Arcola Theatre

Reviewed on 6th September 2024

by Giles Broadbent

Photography by Kate Hockenhull

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

MR PUNCH AT THE OPERA | ★★★ | August 2024
FABULOUS CREATURES | ★★★ | May 2024
THE BOOK OF GRACE | ★★★★★ | May 2024
LIFE WITH OSCAR | ★★★ | April 2024
WHEN YOU PASS OVER MY TOMB | ★★★★★ | February 2024
SPUTNIK SWEETHEART | ★★★ | October 2023
GENTLEMEN | ★★★★ | October 2023
THE BRIEF LIFE & MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF BORIS III, KING OF BULGARIA | ★★★★★ | September 2023
THE WETSUITMAN | ★★★ | August 2023
UNION | ★★★ | July 2023
DUCK | ★★★★ | June 2023
POSSESSION | ★★★★★ | June 2023

THE BAND BACK TOGETHER

THE BAND BACK TOGETHER

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DUCK

★★★★

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

DUCK at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

★★★★

“a very personal story in the midst of an institutional one, with plenty of humour and compassion throughout”

Duck is vivid in a way few pieces or storytelling, let alone theatre, manage to be. It tells the story of Ismael “Smiles” Akhad, a stereotypically insecure and competitive fifteen year old boy whose whole life revolves around cricket. His ambitions are curtailed, however, by racism amongst the ranks of his private school cricket team, both implicit racism, through his manipulative “old boy” cricket coach, Mr Eagles, and explicit racism: the bullying and by-standing of his teammates.

Indeed, the fundamental strength of Maatin’s writing, though there are many strengths, is how nuanced, flawed, redeemable and sympathetic Ismael is. “Smiley” is a real talent, but he’s fallible; we never actually see him score anything but ducks (a big fat 0). He’s rambunctious, rebellious, resentful, but nevertheless not blind to the sacrifices of his father, who Qasim Mahmood, the sole actor in the play, performs with similarly wonderful joy and depth. Indeed, it’s the relationship between father and son which acts as the spine of the play; they fight, though both just want the other to be happy. They listen to each other. They want to understand each other, even when the teenage brain makes that understandably hard. The love traceable in this relationship despite the complications makes you root hard for their mutual success despite their faults.

In general, the writing is excellent. It’s never poetic but it never needs to be, because honesty and vivid realism is the order of the day and Maatin executes it with near perfection. Indeed, my performance was stopped halfway through for a tech issue, breaking immersion in the most explicit sense, and yet I never felt detached once it restarted, which is a testament to the breadth and colour of the world Maatin creates. It immerses you immediately and permeates; each character so vividly alive that a short incidental interval can’t possibly make them fade.

Furthermore, Mahmood’s acting is as strong as the writing. From the opening “Howzaaaaat?”, the energy never dies; even in the powerful, emotional moments, such as when his father elucidates the reality of xenophobia in England, where silences last longer than dialogue, the intensity of the character and the story never dissipates. The directorial pacing (ImyWyatt Corner) and writing can be thanked in part, but the control and energy Mahmood exhibits is just as significant. He never overdoes it, never loses your attention, and though sometimes the emotional development can feel chaotic and discordant, such are the tortures of a teenage brain.

Alongside this direct talent, the use of tech in the show is outstanding; direct, but executed to perfection. Throughout, two imaginary cricket commentators narrate the ups and downs of Ismael’s experience. Voiceovers can often be tacky and messy, but they’re incredibly sharp here, and we sense that Mahmood knows each one of them – their pace, cadence and rhythm – as well as he knows his live lines. The use of duck sound effects (Holly Khan) is tempered but perfectly timed, and the many simple lighting (Jonathan Chan) changes to convey warm summer days, movie nights and classroom monotony is, at risk of sounding like a broken record, executed perfectly.

The show deals with heavy, important themes throughout – micro aggressive and outward racism, institutional prejudice, and the 7/7 bombings – but never becomes didactic, rather treating each issue with the personal perspective they warrant. Its presentation of the “boys club” racism is visceral in its distaste, and the isolation Ismael suffers emits equally so. But regardless, Duck manages to tell a very personal story in the midst of an institutional one, with plenty of humour and compassion throughout. It’s a vivid delight, and I recommend it unreservedly


DUCK at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – Pleasance Courtyard – Beneath

Reviewed on 21st August 2024

by Horatio Holloway

Photography by Isha Shah (from Arcola Theatre production)

 

 


Duck

Duck

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