Tag Archives: Joseph Winters

Another America

Another America

★★★

Park Theatre

Another America

Another America

Park Theatre

Reviewed – 7th April 2022

★★★

 

“For all its initial bounce, though, this show is slow to catch fire”

 

Another America by Bill Rosenfield, manages to combine two American obsessions — sport, and road trips. Inspired by Dan Austin’s film, True Fans, Rosenfield’s stage version presents us with three characters, all male, all about to take what they hope will be a life changing trip across America. The plan is to cycle from Los Angeles, on the west coast where they live, to Springfield, Massachusetts, on the east coast, to visit the Basketball Hall of Fame. Dan, the instigator of this madcap idea, is a basketball fanatic. He somehow talks his reluctant brother Jared, and his best friend Clint, into coming with him. Even the team’s failure to raise money to sponsor their trip does not derail Dan’s enthusiasm. He is sure they will manage somehow. And manage they do, though their efforts are hardly inspiring. They are constantly being rescued by the kindness of strangers on basketball courts — and in Subway sandwich shops. Which is not an uncommon American experience, if truth be told.

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Another America begins on an encouraging note. Donning the naïve enthusiasm of a kind that endears all Americans to each other — and to the world for that matter — actors Jacob Lovick (Clint), Rosanna Suppa (Jared) and Marco Young (Dan) are on stage to welcome the audience from the moment they enter the studio space at the Park Theatre. This informal presentation serves the production well as the actors shift between a variety of roles, and locations. Director Joseph Winters keeps the action bouncing along on a makeshift set, much like the basketball that accompanies our fans on their road trip. Occasionally, the audience gets directly involved. The backstage crew, even when invited, are shrewd enough to decline the offer to participate.

For all its initial bounce, though, this show is slow to catch fire. Another America is a better subject for film than the theatre, for the simple reason that, unless you’ve actually been to middle America, it’s a difficult place to imagine. It’s far easier to film this vast nothingness — if your audience is ready to settle in for long periods of riding across land so flat that you can see the curvature of the earth. Looking at you, North and South Dakota. Indiana, Missouri and Pennsylvania may not be quite as prostrate, but they’re still states in “flyover country” which makes their geographical expanse hugely challenging to convey on stage. The energetic charm of the actors is not enough to paint the pictures of emptiness in words that film, unfairly, can.

For the most part, however, Across America hangs on a series of depressing encounters with people left behind and disenfranchised by an illusory American Dream. Playwright Rosenfield accurately captures the bewildered resentment of these folks. But the first half of the Another America is spent wondering why, despite some of the spectacular scenery that the cyclists travel through, most of the action is located on basketball courts, near double wide trailers, farms on the brink of foreclosure, and Subway sandwich shops in the middle of nowhere. Ironically, a detour to Las Vegas results, not in a lost 24 hours of excess, which is kind of experience we have been led to expect from any encounter in the Nevada desert, but with the team getting the hell out of there as quickly as possible. Fair enough. But this hardly makes for good drama.

Right from the start, we know there is going to be a certain amount of rite of passage material in this picaresque tale. A good example is Dan’s reckless tossing of their trip mascot, a basketball, into the Mississippi River, in a moment of existential despair. He then jumps in after it. And his brother jumps in to rescue him, and the ball. Why rescue the ball? It’s not just that it’s a basketball. It is also covered with well meaning advice from all the people who have bailed them out, at one point or another during their trip. It turns out that meeting these people is more important than even reaching the Basketball Hall of Fame, which can only offer them a free soda as acknowledgement of their epic journey. Not surprisingly, the people they meet, with little to offer, and nothing left to lose, turn out to be more generous than corporate sponsors and money making tourist attractions. It’s a sobering conclusion to what might, under different circumstances, and in a different time, be a more uplifting tale.

Another America provides a glimpse into American life that is sadly recognizable, and rather downbeat. For audiences looking for something other than gritty dramas about big city life, this may appeal. But this story is as much a myth buster about road trips and sports fanatics, as it is an inspiring tale about go-getting heroes, despite the delightful energy of its young cast.

 

 

Reviewed by Dominica Plummer

Photography by  Piers Foley

 


Another America

Park Theatre until 30th April

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
When Darkness Falls | ★★★ | August 2021
Flushed | ★★★★ | October 2021
Abigail’s Party | ★★★★ | November 2021
Little Women | ★★★★ | November 2021
Cratchit | ★★★ | December 2021
Julie Madly Deeply | ★★★★ | December 2021

 

Click here to see our most recent reviews

 

In Conversation With Graham Norton
★★★

Hope Theatre

In Conversation With Graham Norton

In Conversation With Graham Norton

Hope Theatre

Reviewed – 12th January 2019

★★★

“Simon Perrott’s script is uncomfortable, shocking and humorous”

 

Batavia Productions are a brave company. Their work in film and theatre focuses on vital social issues, from sexual harassment to suicide prevention, and this piece, now enjoying an extended run at north London’s Hope Theatre, does not shy away from big issues facing young people.

Mark (Jay Parsons) needs someone to talk to, but with being bullied at school, ignored by his family, and isolated by the rest of society, he doesn’t have anywhere to go. Enter Graham Norton. Or, at least, a signed picture of Graham Norton. In lieu of calling into Graham’s radio show, Mark finds peace in his ability to be open with this one photo, revealing the pain he suffers on a daily basis, all leading up to one final, devastating decision.

Parsons plays the awkward Mark as compellingly vulnerable and naïve. His confessions do not come easy. As a one-person show, our interest rides mostly on Parsons’ performance which at times seems under energised. A microphone is used to differentiate between characters (dad, school bully, sister) in a way that seems cumbersome and unnecessary. Parsons relies on voice rather than physicality in creating these scenes, and so the characterisations are less precise. Director Joseph Winters could have pushed his actor farther in this regard.

Simon Perrott’s script is uncomfortable, shocking and humorous. It is structured well, with a dramatic tension crystallising under the surface throughout the piece. Filled with lucid, fantastical descriptions, the script has elegance but suffers through a lack of engaging stories. The funniest moment involves an unsuspecting cat having a finger shoved up its behind, but even this gets milked just a little too much. Perrott’s insights into a young adult coming to terms with his sexuality certainly ring true however and are a witty reminder how fascinating and scary discovering your sexuality can be.

Ultimately though this is a sad tale. Is it a warning of the dangers of online communities? A reminder of how common thoughts of suicide can be for young LGBTQ+ people? We are offered no solutions, just questions. A fairly strong central performance keeps this show going, but if Batavia wants its audience to take action, we need to understand what it is we’re fighting for.

 

Reviewed by Joseph Prestwich

Photography courtesy Batavia Productions

 


In Conversation With Graham Norton

Hope Theatre until 26th January

 

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:
Worth a Flutter | ★★ | May 2018
Cockamamy | ★★★★ | June 2018
Fat Jewels | ★★★★★ | July 2018
Medicine | ★★★ | August 2018
The Dog / The Cat | ★★★★★ | September 2018
The Lesson | ★★★★ | September 2018
Jericho’s Rose | ★★★½ | October 2018
Gilded Butterflies | ★★ | November 2018
Head-rot Holiday | ★★★★ | November 2018
Alternativity | ★★★★ | December 2018

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com