Stuffed
Jack Studio Theatre
Reviewed – 8th March 2018
★★★★
“a heartwarming tale of the ups and downs of infertility”
Red Squash Theatre brings a heartwarming tale of the ups and downs of infertility to the stage thanks to the clever writing of Lucy Joy Russell and Holly McFarlane. They take an incredibly emotional subject and explore the rollercoaster journey of childless couple Kim and Jack through the minefield of fertility treatment with a perfect mixture of sadness, poignant humour and sensitivity.
Kim and Jack are getting older and their attempts to get pregnant continue to be fruitless. Meanwhile everyone around them is either pregnant or has a houseful of children. Kim played by Faye Maughan is brilliant in her role. She projects a slightly haunted, exhausted aura while continuing to muddle through life and make the best of the situation. Even during the comic light-hearted moments she has a look of longing and desperation that shows how much she is hurting inside. Ben Scheck plays her ever supportive husband Jack and although sometimes his comic moments fall a bit flat, he excels when he cracks and shows how much he too is suffering.
Holly McFarlane is superb in her multiple roles of Carole, Frances and Dr Dingwall. They bring a welcome lightheartedness to the play and she delivers some of the funniest one liners. In fact she is so convincing in each role that I only realised five minutes before the end that she was actually playing three different characters.
The seating around the stage made it difficult at times to see the facial expression and get the full impact of the emotions portrayed. With a few tweaks to the stage direction this could be easily addressed and the whole audience would be able to fully experience the emotional impact of this talented cast.
I would welcome seeing “Stuffed” transferred to a larger stage.
Reviewed by Angela East
Photography by Robbie Ewing
Stuffed
Jack Studio Theatre until 17th March
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