Tag Archives: Max Lindsay

Life And Death  Of A Journalist

Life And Death  Of A Journalist

★★★

VAULT Festival 2020

Life And Death  Of A Journalist

Life And Death  Of A Journalist

Cage – The Vaults

Reviewed – 29th February 2020

★★★

 

“a play that could be extremely good, but is currently only good in parts”

 

Life and Death of a Journalist centres on Laura, a journalist who has just returned to London from covering the Hong Kong riots. There is an important story to tell here, a story of one woman’s struggle to tell the truth in the face of immense pressure, of whether it’s right to compromise sometimes, in the hope of getting what you want and for the greater good, and the story of what’s been happening in Hong Kong recently. Laura is played by Lucy Roslyn, with engaging strength and conviction. She is a magnetic actor, immediately charming the audience and holding this sometimes creaky play together.

Melissa Woodbridge plays Vicky, the editor of an independent paper who offers Laura a job, promising her freedom to write about what she believes in. She is professional, spiky and manipulative, but also warm and attractive, as she gets what she wants from Laura and from her own career. But has Laura been right to trust her?

The other pull on Laura is her boyfriend Mark. Robert Bradley is relatable and rather sweet in the role, but sometimes hampered by clunky dialogue. Who asks their girlfriend, in the heat of a row, where they see their relationship in five year’s time? It sounded like a belligerent job interview, not a relationship.

So there is the narrative of Laura’s determination to be an honest journalist and fight for justice in Hong Kong, a place she loves, and the narrative of her relationship issues. At times this works really well, and Laura’s conflict between these two parts of her life escalates nicely. But the writing doesn’t always help. Much of it is good, but some moments jar. On hearing that Mark’s father has died Laura’s response is ‘let’s get married. let’s have kids.’ It’s out of the blue, off piste and unbelievable. At times it feels like a lecture too, as though the writer, Jingan Young, is using her characters as a mouthpiece, rather than allowing points to be made organically, through credible natural dialogue and action.

Harry Blake’s sound, and lighting by Anna Reddyhoff, work well with the set. Some upended chairs, a couple of barricades and protest posters effectively evoke the riots and become the newspaper office, the streets of Hong Kong, a bar and Laura and Mark’s home.

This is a play that could be extremely good, but is currently only good in parts. Max Lindsay’s direction is not quite consistent, and the ending is just odd. I hope it gets a bit of a rewrite, because it’s full of potential.

 

Reviewed by Katre

 

VAULT Festival 2020

 

 

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Mother of Him

★★★★★

Park Theatre

Mother of Him

Mother of Him

Park Theatre

Reviewed – 24th September 2019

★★★★★

 

“Tracy-Ann Oberman is superb as Brenda, finding her way through a landscape of emotions in a devastatingly truthful arc”

 

Do you have to love your child, no matter what they have done? Can you? This is a play about what it means to be a mother, in particular, what it means to be the mother of a son who has done something terrible. Evan Placey has written a masterful and gripping examination of this question, set during the week leading up to the sentencing of Brenda’s son Matthew for the crime of rape. But Matthew is not the only son, he has an eight year old brother, Jason, and Brenda has to deal with his needs, her own distress, and a media siege outside her front door. Tracy-Ann Oberman is superb as Brenda, finding her way through a landscape of emotions in a devastatingly truthful arc, and bringing in delightful and unexpected humour at times. It’s a performance that had my friend and I in tears. We are both mothers of sons, and were both impressed that a young man could write such a complex, real woman with understanding, humanity and a lightness of touch. Because, while this is a play that challenges us to think and question, while it is a bit of an emotional roller-coaster, it is never heavy, never forced.

The action is set in 1998, before social media, so the press and television were absolutely in control of the narrative in any situation. Every time Brenda or Jason leave the house they pounce. This is only shown by off stage sound and lighting, a successful design decision that makes the house seem more and more like a prison as the story progresses. Matthew, played by Scott Folan, is probably not anyone’s idea of a rapist. he is young, gangly and defensive. A normal teenager. Folan never reveals too much, leaving us questioning why this boy man could have done what he did. He is sweet with his young brother Jason, delightfully portrayed by Matt Goldberg, one of two boys who share the role. We get the feeling of a real family, a single mother trying to keep some normality for her younger son, not knowing how to deal with the older one. The boy who has become a stranger, a kind of monster.

Simon Hepworth plays family friend and lawyer Robert Rosenberg, trying to help with the court case and trying to keep Brenda on an even keel. His reliability and patience balancing Neil Sheffield’s unreliable Steve, the long absent father of the boys who shows up late in the play. Anjelica Serra completes the cast, playing Matthew’s girlfriend Jessica, and Tess, the cleaner. None of the cast put a foot wrong and, although it is Tracy-Ann Oberman’s Brenda who is at the centre of the drama, everyone deserves an accolade.

The sound design includes radio broadcasts, and is a valuable evocation of the time beautifully created by Fergus O’Hare. Ali Hunter’s lighting and Lee Newby’s costumes and flexible set create a believable world, a home that’s now both a prison and a refuge from the outside world. The whole thing is drawn together and directed by Max Lindsay with a lovely sense of place and family. It is a triumph.

 

Reviewed by Katre

Photography by Bronwen Sharp

 


Mother of Him

Park Theatre until 26th October

 

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:
Cry Havoc | ★★ | March 2019
The Life I Lead | ★★★ | March 2019
We’re Staying Right Here | ★★★★ | March 2019
Hell Yes I’m Tough Enough | ★★½ | April 2019
Intra Muros | | April 2019
Napoli, Brooklyn | ★★★★ | June 2019
Summer Rolls | ★★★½ | June 2019
The Time Of Our Lies | ★★★★ | August 2019
The Weatherman | ★★★ | August 2019
Black Chiffon | ★★★★ | September 2019

 

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