Tag Archives: Jermyn Street Theatre

Adventurous

Adventurous

β˜…β˜…Β½

Online via stream.theatre

Adventurous

Adventurous

Online via stream.theatre

Reviewed – 15th March 2021

β˜…β˜…Β½

 

“a missed opportunity to show what can be done with theatre online”

 

Ian Hallard’s new play Adventurous tackles a subject dear to many heartsβ€”that of online dating. It takes place during 2020, so it’s not surprising that much of the humour in every scene arises from the enormous changes that a pandemic has brought to our social interactions.

Directed by Khadifa Wong; produced by the Jermyn Street Theatre, and starring Ian Hallard as Richard, and Sara Crowe as Rosalind, Adventurous follows a diffident pair of lonely hearts over several months from their first meeting during lockdown. Richard and Ros do manage to have one socially distanced dinner in a restaurant during more relaxed times in summer. But the relationship is resumed via Zoom again as the weather grows colder, and restrictions on activities increase.

A Zoom drama tends to focus attention on the actors, and rightly so. In Adventurous, Ian Hallard and Sara Crowe show a deft touch playing two characters who are, respectively, a secondary school teacher with a sexual problem, and a stay at home carer to a disabled sister (recently deceased). As the backstory to each character emerges, though, it seems like a miracle that they ever connected in the first place. In a life without lockdown, they wouldn’t have. This is apparent early on in the amusing misunderstandings between two people with very different experiences of life. And just as people’s descriptions of themselves on dating sites rarely measure up in β€œreal life”, we discover that relationship hopeful Ros has also indulged in a smidgen of exaggeration in her profile. In fairness, it is a hope, rather than a lie, that leads Ros to describe herself as β€œadventurous” on the site that introduces her to Richard. But in truth, neither she nor Richard are particularly adventurous, and this is the rock on which both their budding relationship, and the play, eventually founder.

RIchard and Ros are pleasant company, but Adventurous doesn’t really catch fire until Ros’ curiosity about Richard’s soon to be ex wife Lois leads her to contact Lois on Facebook. And kudos to Katherine Jakeways for a lovely cameo as the abrasive Lois. For a brief moment, Ros does become β€œadventurous” as she confronts Richard’s abusive ex, and the experience changes her life. Sadly, it does not change Richard’s, although Ros plays an important part in helping him to find closure with the β€œexhausting” Lois.

Adventurous is a light hearted entertainment that will appeal to viewers looking for a situational comedy with accomplished actors. But it’s also a missed opportunity to show what can be done with theatre online. And viewing a comedy without a live audience is a sad reminder of how much we need the pandemic to end. Let’s hope it’s not too long before audiences can safely re-enter theatres.

 

Reviewed by Dominica Plummer

 


Adventurous

Online via stream.theatre until 28th March

 

Recently reviewed by Dominica:
Bread And Circuses | β˜…β˜…Β½ | Online | September 2020
Minutes To Midnight | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | Online | September 2020
Persephone’s Dream | β˜…β˜…β˜… | Online | September 2020
The Trilobite | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | Online | September 2020
Paradise Lost | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | Cockpit Theatre | September 2020
The Legend of Moby Dick Whittington | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | Online | November 2020
Potted Panto | β˜…β˜…β˜… | Garrick Theatre | December 2020
Magnetic North | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | Online | December 2020
Public Domain | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | Online | January 2021
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice | β˜…β˜…β˜… | Online | February 2021

 

 

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The Labyrinth

15 Heroines – The Labyrinth

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…

Jermyn Street Theatre Online

The Labyrinth

15 Heroines – The Labyrinth

Online from Jermyn Street Theatre

Reviewed – 8th November 2020

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…

 

“an exciting and ambitious one-take show that provides a voice to an important range of mythological women”

 

The past is full of forgotten women. Women who did not have the means to tell their story; women who were not seen as important enough to warrant any attention; and women who were dead before anyone even thought to care. At the turn of millennium, the ancient Roman poet Ovid sought to rectify this by producing a series of epistolary poems written from the perspective of the heroines of ancient mythology in address to the heroic lovers who had wronged them.

15 Heroines, directed by Adjoa Andoh, Tom Littler and Cat Robey, dramatises the lives of these aggrieved women through a sequence of powerful monologues taking direct inspiration from Ovid’s work. The Labyrinth, one of three sets of five in the series, links together Ariadne, Phaedra, Phyllis, Hypsipyle and Medea through their respective entanglements with the Greek heroes Theseus and Jason.

The play begins with a set of title cards explaining the ancient nature of the forthcoming stories and the context of Ovid’s work. β€˜String’ by Bryony Lavery is the first episode, in which a pyjama-clad Ariadne (Patsy Ferran) recants her ruthless abandonment on Naxos by Theseus after she aided him in slaying her half-brother the Minotaur. β€˜String’ is the apt starting point for these tales of woe, as the performance highlights how these women are all inextricably connected through the men who have hurt them. Thread moreover has a special meaning in ancient mythology. The thread of life of every mortal on earth is controlled by a trio of goddesses called the Fates, but, here, the spindle is placed in the hands of an aggrieved woman.

The second monologue sees Ariadne’s sister, Phaedra (DoΓ±a Croll), muse on what it means to be human and the monstrous nature of desire. This is followed by a lament by Phyllis (Nathalie Armin), the abandoned wife of Theseus’ son Demophon, whose attire resembles the almond tree which grows on her burial site after she commits suicide due to her husband’s desertion. The final two monologues delivered by Hypsipyle (Olivia Williams) and Medea (Nadine Marshall) respectively explore their devastating love affairs with the hero Jason.

Armin is a stand-out performer, injecting great emotion into her speech. The whole cast command the stage excellently, and Croll is particularly captivating in her delivery and presence. The ordering of Ariadne, Phaedra and Phyllis works well, clearly highlighting the multi-generational damage that Theseus and his family have inflicted on these women.

The costumes and associated characterisation of the heroines is good, often mirroring other types of women β€˜lost’ to history. Hypsipyle is reimagined as a middle-aged β€˜wine mum’ who begins her scene by drafting an awkward email to her ex-lover. Phaedra is a glamorous woman straight out of the 1920s, decked out in a gold cocktail dress, and a far cry from her hysterical mythological counterpart. Phyllis’ elaborate headpiece made of twigs, leaves and flowers is particularly fabulous, and her costume most clearly places her in the mystical world of myth.

There are few props or set pieces, save a suitcase for Ariadne, a desk for Hypsipyle and a lounger for Phaedra. The set itself is rather simple, with different coloured sheets and lights used to change the backdrop. This is at its most exciting during Aridane’s piece when it is completely bare, the wave-like wooden shelves mimicking the ocean that Theseus sailed away on (Louie Whitemore).

The Labyrinth is an exciting and ambitious one-take show that provides a voice to an important range of mythological women. After the cast’s fantastic performances, it will be difficult to forget these women anytime soon.

 

Reviewed by Flora Doble

Photography by Marc Brenner

 


15 Heroines – The Labyrinth

Online via jermynstreettheatre.co.uk until 14th November

 

Last ten shows reviewed by Flora:
Jekyll & Hyde | β˜…β˜…β˜…Β½ | The Vaults | February 2020
Minority Report | β˜…β˜…β˜…Β½ | The Vaults | February 2020
The Six Wives Of Henry VIII | β˜…β˜…β˜… | King’s Head Theatre | February 2020
Julius Caesar | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | The Space | March 2020
The Haus Of Kunst | β˜…β˜…β˜… | The Vaults | March 2020
Big Girl | β˜…β˜…β˜… | Bread & Roses Theatre | September 2020
Pippin | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | The Garden Theatre | September 2020
All By Myself | β˜…β˜…Β½ | Online | October 2020
How to Live a Jellicle Life | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | Lion & Unicorn Theatre | October 2020
Howerd’s End | β˜…β˜…β˜…Β½ | Golden Goose Theatre | October 2020

 

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