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Chasing Ghosts

Etcetera Theatre

Reviewed – 9th October 2019

★★★½

“a strong piece of writing from Robert Bingham”

Hot on the heels of ‘Bipolar Me’, Etcetera Theatre have put on another play focussing on mental health, this being a new piece of writing performed by new company JB Theatre.

Seemingly normal chap Simon, lashes out at a female friend of his, breaking her jaw. He ends up in a police cell and despite being discharged, refuses to leave. An unconventional priest comes in to counsel Simon, help him confront his demons and try to get to the bottom of why he is continually being confronted by ghostly figures.

A fairly basic set consisting of a table, two chairs and a couple of stools did the job, lighting was fine with occasional nice little flourishes and music was well chosen. I did feel that each music cue was sliced off, a gentle fade would have been so much easier on the ear.

The play starts with priest Cade (Robert Bingham) reading aloud a devastating diagnosis that he had received from the hospital. This scene stayed with me throughout and as he used a series of bizarre tactics to counsel Simon, you wondered just what demons he was facing himself. Simon (Ben Felton) gives a very strong performance. He is wholly invested in his character, although never specified, he is clearly dealing with PTSD and the stillness and strength of his voice somehow makes his vulnerability particularly heart-breaking. An early scene when he attempts to escape his demons through dance, is particularly effective. Cade is a fascinating character, certainly not like any priest I’ve ever seen. The actor clearly has fun with him, there are some nice moments of humour and although he is possibly slightly overplayed, that opening scene keeps coming back to validate his behaviour. Callie (Katherine Lea) completes the cast, underwritten a little in my opinion, her downstage reading of a letter she had written to Simon is beautifully performed. I did however have an issue with her ripped jeans. In fashion, sure, but whenever the actress doubled as one of the demons, despite the fact that her face was hidden, you saw the ripped jeans and just thought, ‘that’s Cally!’ A simple pair of black trousers would have helped the illusion. A nice little hinted at love story between Simon and Cally, I hope her boyfriend Dan is given the boot.

It becomes apparent that personal tragedy from Simon’s early family life is haunting him, now the earlier mentioned health issue is haunting Cade. When Simon asks Cade “Will I will ever see you again?” and Cade waits a beat and answers “It’s unlikely”, it cut through me like a knife.

This is a strong piece of writing from Robert Bingham, the closing scene with a brilliant light fade, is really impactful. Thought provoking stuff with an interesting twist, I left the theatre wondering who had been counselling whom. I hope that JB Theatre go from strength to strength, they have a play here ideal for the festival circuit.

We all have our own personal demons, as I headed for the Northern line, I couldn’t help looking over my shoulder to see if there was a cloaked figure following me.

Reviewed by Chris White

Chasing Ghosts

Etcetera Theatre until 12th October

Previously reviewed at this venue:

The Wasp | ★★★½ | June 2019

Past Perfect | ★★★★ | July 2019

Vice | ★★½ | July 2019

Before I Am Lost | ★★ | August 2019

Belamour | ★★★★ | August 2019

Puttana | ★★★ | August 2019

The Parentheticals: Improdyssey | ★★★★ | August 2019

Unlovable | ★★★ | August 2019

Women On The Edge | ★★★ | August 2019

Bipolar Me | ★★★ | October 2019

Click here to see our most recent reviews

Moth Hunting

Cockpit Theatre

Reviewed – 26th September 2019

★★★★

“this is an excellent play … performed by three actresses at the top of their game”

It is sometimes difficult to be inspired when you check out theatre listings and find the same old plays. So the promise of a brand new comedy was enough to put a spring in my step as I made my way to The Cockpit theatre.

This is the story of a mother and her two daughters who occasionally go on outings together. They had previously had a spa day, been paintballing and this time, daughter Ann had planned a trip moth hunting in Macclesfield forest. This came as a surprise to her sister Susan, who when she heard they were roughing it, thought that meant an evening at Wetherspoon’s. The forest visit had a little bit of moth hunting, plenty of trivial sibling rivalry, a few revelations falling out of the closet and a nasty injury which resulted in both division and reconciliation.

The set (Greg Spong) was a cleverly projected dense wood image with plenty of dead leaves littered around the stage. The props including a bright blanket, moth catching kit and a variety of bags were pretty much perfect. Sound and lighting were fairly minimal and yet bang on point when required.

This was a perfectly cast play. I absolutely bought the three ladies as a family unit, comfortable in each others company, always willing to tease and yet their love for each other always shining through at times of crisis. Charlotte Baker (Ann) was the most straight-laced of the sisters, her insecurities were nicely observed and the random dance that she performed to ‘Waterloo’ with her sister was a delight. Kathryn McGarr (Susan) had the best of the laughs, her inappropriate clothing and high heels I felt could have been even more outrageous, but her comedy skills were expertly showcased and she at one point, sported the most impressive leg wound that I’ve seen for a long time. Verity Richards (Gill) was just lovely, she didn’t really care what was going on around her, she just loved being with her girls, her comic timing was a real highlight for me. Gareth Turkington (Sid) made up the cast playing Susan’s partner. Trying to get angry with her, he clearly didn’t have a nasty bone in his body and gave a smashing, comedic performance. The director (Rosie Snell) made good use of the space and kept everything moving along at a good pace.

This piece started life as a ten minute sketch at a new writing night and playwright Phil Ball has developed it into a full play. It is consistently funny, favourite scenes for me being Ann’s story about missing her father’s funeral, the plant watering episode and a short scene with an Uber-Eats driver that was just brilliant.

A few cues were missed early on resulting in some laughs being lost and the audience laughter also drowned out some text here and there. But this is an excellent play, much of the script able to be appreciated by a younger audience and performed by three actresses at the top of their game. Lovely to see such an amusing new comedy hitting the theatre, not only that, I learnt plenty of interesting facts about moths into the bargain.

Etcetera Theatre

Reviewed – 9th October 2019

★★★½

“a strong piece of writing from Robert Bingham”

Hot on the heels of ‘Bipolar Me’, Etcetera Theatre have put on another play focussing on mental health, this being a new piece of writing performed by new company JB Theatre.

A fairly basic set consisting of a table, two chairs and a couple of stools did the job, lighting was fine with occasional nice little flourishes and music was well chosen. I did feel that each music cue was sliced off, a gentle fade would have been so much easier on the ear.

It becomes apparent that personal tragedy from Simon’s early family life is haunting him, now the earlier mentioned health issue is haunting Cade. When Simon asks Cade “Will I will ever see you again?” and Cade waits a beat and answers “It’s unlikely”, it cut through me like a knife.

We all have our own personal demons, as I headed for the Northern line, I couldn’t help looking over my shoulder to see if there was a cloaked figure following me.

Reviewed by Chris White

Chasing Ghosts

Etcetera Theatre until 12th October

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Cockpit Theatre

Reviewed – 26th September 2019

★★★★

“this is an excellent play … performed by three actresses at the top of their game”

It is sometimes difficult to be inspired when you check out theatre listings and find the same old plays. So the promise of a brand new comedy was enough to put a spring in my step as I made my way to The Cockpit theatre.

The set (Greg Spong) was a cleverly projected dense wood image with plenty of dead leaves littered around the stage. The props including a bright blanket, moth catching kit and a variety of bags were pretty much perfect. Sound and lighting were fairly minimal and yet bang on point when required.

Reviewed by Chris White

Photography by Rosie Snell

Moth Hunting

Cockpit Theatre until 28th September

Previously reviewed at this venue: