Jermyn Street Theatre Archives - Page 11 of 25

★★★

“There are two fine performances from both young actors with subtle nuances of character”

Five scenes run straight through without an interval in this moving new production of Rita Kalnejais’s 2017 play set in Nazi-occupied France towards the end of the Second World War. Directed by Charles Khalil and designed by Niall McKeever, this production is a two-hander with the two supporting roles of the first production consigned to voiceovers. The scene is set with a welcoming soundtrack of French chanson that segues into German song. And then a familiar tune – Somewhere Over the Rainbow – sung first in one language and then the other.

The opening and longest scene of the play is the most successful. We meet and get to know the two characters. Elodie (Katie Eldred) is a French girl angry with her mother, anti-church, a teenage rebel who flashes her knickers at the window rather than be subdued behind a blackout. Otto (Freddie Wise) is a German soldier, no more than a boy, his father’s medals on his chest and a gun in his hand. The young couple design to meet in the bedroom of an abandoned family home. Elodie expects Mrs Levi, the Jewish owner, to soon return; Otto knows that she will not. Elodie has brought along a picnic – some bread and cheese and a bottle of wine – to share on the edge of an unkempt bed in a bare room as the village outside burns.

Elodie displays her youthful innocence with bare legs and bobby socks, her hair held back in a white band, but her knowing looks and unspoken gestures hint at her desires and to where she will lead the young soldier. It is up to Otto to follow her direction. He has been led into the war by his father, led into Nazi doctrine by Hitler, and now led into bed by Elodie. As the passive partner in this relationship, we see there are other things going on unsaid. Otto is nervous, not only because of what he hopes to get from this night, but because his head is full of daytime horrors. His quick temper hints at the onset of PTSD.

Otto expects to invade England in the morning. Elodie expects to be liberated by the Americans. We hear the shocking nature of what does happen through two poignant monologues but clumsy movement across the illuminated floor tiles inhibits the powerful nature of the narrative.

There are two fine performances from both young actors with subtle nuances of character. Katie Eldred is in full control as Elodie’s desires drive the action forward. Freddie Wise clearly shows us the mixed emotions and confusion in the mind of Otto, despite some unclear diction.

The two final scenes are short flashbacks: how Elodie and Otto first meet, and the couple waking up after their one night together but there is little new to learn. The two actors well deserve their applause at the end and share the acclaim with two charming and delightful symbols of hope and rebirth.

Reviewed by Phillip Money

Photography by Steve Gregson

Adventurous

Online via stream.theatre

Reviewed – 15th March 2021

★★½

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

Ian Hallard’s new play Adventurous tackles a subject dear to many hearts—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 “real 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 “adventurous” 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 “adventurous” 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 “exhausting” 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.