Tag Archives: Hen and Chickens Theatre

I Will Miss You When You’re Gone – 2.5 Stars

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Gone

I Will Miss You When You’re Gone

Hen & Chickens Theatre

Reviewed – 18th August 2018

★★½

“there’s no reason why this play couldn’t evolve into a very valuable voice in the conversation surrounding grief”

 

Perhaps the main issue with I Will Miss You When You’re Gone is that, despite promising to discuss the effects and experience of living with grief, it gets so caught up in the throes of ghost politics that it all but forgets to do what it set out to. To explain what I mean by this, this play comes in at just over an hour in length. One would think that in this time there could be plenty of discussion of what it means to grieve and eventually move on, but this just doesn’t happen. Instead, much of the time seems to be taken up with the minutiae of who can or can’t see who and why. Certainly, this could be of interest, but it felt to me that it seriously overshadowed what the play allegedly set out to do. There were many points at which it became evident that, for all the talking, the plot was not really growing or progressing. Instead, it felt like it was managing to go in circles without breaking any new ground.

Additionally, while not all of the acting was wonderful, there was also a strong sense that this would be a challenging piece to perform extremely well. Far too many of the lines jarred uncomfortably, and some moments just felt so unnatural that it was virtually impossible to take them seriously. Most of the time, it would be hard to really blame the actors for this. The issue clearly lies far more with Jessica Moss’ original material. However, I didn’t get the impression that the direction (Vuqun Fan) pulled much out of the text. It was frequently hard to discern just why the characters were doing what they were doing as their motivations were never really made clear. Because of this, many of the momentary snapshot scenes (all too frequently sandwiched between painfully extended blackouts) just didn’t quite make sense. Given the simplicity of the set (Aiden Connor) and the small size of the cast, it would be hard to justify any blackouts between scenes at all, and yet these were often long to the point of distraction. If these quick successions of small scenes are to work, there must be a better way to do that than cutting the play off for twenty seconds every time.

Despite these issues, I can’t write this play off. Perhaps if the director and cast manage to hone their focus in on the elements of the text that explore real issues, these can be more visibly drawn out. If that is possible, then there’s no reason why this play couldn’t evolve into a very valuable voice in the conversation surrounding grief, and on how we as a society deal with it. There is some important material in there – there’s discussion of how isolation plays into mental health issues, how humans respond to grief and what it means to succeed. If these issues can be brought to the forefront, that would be a good place to start.

 

Reviewed by Grace Patrick

 


I Will Miss You When You’re Gone

Hen & Chickens Theatre until 29th September

 

 

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Isaac Saddlesore & the Witches of Drenn – 4 Stars

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Isaac

Isaac Saddlesore & the Witches of Drenn

Hen & Chickens Theatre

Reviewed – 8th April 2018

★★★★

“This is not sophisticated comedy, and doesn’t pretend to be, but it is skilful theatre”

 

The Adventure of Isaac Saddlesore and the Witches of Drenn is a comedy caper in the style of a Sherlock Holmes mystery. Written by Callum Hale, who also gives a terrific turn as the blustering Aussie anti-hero Sir Maxwell Gropefund, it follows the private detective, Isaac Saddlesore, and his long-suffering companion Dr George Hotbuns as they seek to uncover the true cause of the curse which seemingly lies over the Gropefund family. The publicity promised an evening of ‘bad puns, single entendre and daft names aplenty’, and did not disappoint. What was a treat to discover however, was the professionalism of this young company, in evidence at every turn.

This is not sophisticated comedy, and doesn’t pretend to be, but it is skilful theatre. The Micawber Theatre Company run a tight ship and it was a pleasure to watch a piece of original comedy that was truly funny, pacy and well-rehearsed. Hale’s writing ably parodied the conventions set in place by Conan Doyle, with some frolicsome meta-theatrical touches pleasing to a 21st century palate. The cast worked extremely well as an ensemble, and there was some terrific multi-role work on display from Alice Osmanski and Sam Young in particular. Their ability to move between roles at high speed in the fast and furious denouement was delicious, and gave a shot of comedy aderenaline to the capacity crowd at the Hen & Chickens.

Lewis Allcock and Roger Parkins were well cast as the crime-fighting duo, though Saddlesore was the only role which seemed a trifle underwritten. Parkins gave a performance of tremendous brio, which occasionally overshadowed that of his capricious friend, owing to the quality of the material. Much was made of Saddlesore’s cocaine addiction, but the detective’s lines (pun entirely intended) didn’t always give Allcock what he needed. The comic business between the two was terrific throughout however, with the perfectly performed high speed chase a particular highlight.

The fact that a high speed chase was even possible in this tiny space is credit to Amy Wicks’ superb and inventive direction. The physical comedy was slickly choreographed and the space transformed with creative flair throughout. Dylan Allcock’s atmospheric and frequently hilarious musicianship also played an important part in the success of this energetic and entertaining production. The Micawber Theatre Company simply fizzes with talent and deserves every success.

 

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

 

 

Isaac Saddlesore & the Witches of Drenn

Hen & Chickens Theatre

 

 

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