Tag Archives: Oscar Wilde

The Selfish Giant
★★★★

Omnibus Theatre

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The Selfish Giant

The Selfish Giant

Omnibus Theatre

Reviewed – 1st December 2018

★★★★

“a beautiful show that will appeal across generations”

 

This is a story I loved as a child and read over and over. In their first collaboration, Soap Soup Theatre and Tessa Bide Productions create a charming adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s classic tale. The Selfish Giant, Grint (Tomasin Cuthbert Menes), has a fantastic garden and whenever she is on holiday, children play amongst the flowers. But when she comes back to find traces of children across her garden – miniature footsteps and beginner gardening books – she banishes them all from her garden and builds the highest wall she can. But without the children, the garden begins to die and is replaced by an eternal winter. Unbeknownst to the giant, however, there is one child, Poppy (Tessa Bide) still trapped inside. So begins a story of friendship, that celebrates difference and kindness.

There are some very beautiful elements to the production. The garden, designed by Tomasin Cuthbert Menes, who also plays Grinter, is created by items of clothing: crinolines adorned with rhododendrons, a hat that becomes a mushroom, scarves that denote creepers. It’s a lovely idea but one that I wanted even more of to get a more vibrant sense of the stark change between summer and winter. The puppets are also stunning, wonderfully crafted, vivid and well-puppeteered. Tessa Bide’s Poppy is well delivered, endearing and curious, whilst Tomasin Cuthbert Menes is vibrant, full of wonderful sounds and facial expressions.

However, whilst this is a beautiful story, it isn’t a long one and the piece as a result lacks a sense of substance. Although the puppetry and mime are done beautifully, the script and its delivery currently feel a little lacking. This picks up towards the end but The Selfish Giant doesn’t have the necessary oomph to keep all its audience perpetually engaged. Despite these small faults, which should be easy to fix, this is a beautiful show that will appeal across generations.

 

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

Photography by Paul Blakemore 

 


The Selfish Giant

Omnibus Theatre until 24th December

 

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:
Drag Me to Love | ★★★ | February 2018
The Soul of Wittgenstein | ★★★ | February 2018
Mortgage | ★★★★ | March 2018
My Dad the Magician | ★★★★ | March 2018
The North! The North! | ★★★ | March 2018
Gauhar Jaan – The Datia Incident | ★★★★ | April 2018
The Yellow Wallpaper | ★★★★ | June 2018
Blood Wedding | ★★★ | September 2018
Quietly | ★★★ | October 2018
To Have to Shoot Irishmen | ★★★★ | October 2018

 

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

 

Reading Gaol – 3.5 Stars

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Gaol

Reading Gaol

Theatre N16

Reviewed – 25th July 2018

★★★½

“the work could do with more contrast and development to illustrate the various parts of the original text and to expound the ideas it inspires”

 

From their new home in Tottenham Hale, Theatre N16’s collaboration with Styx art space provides a challenging yet creative location for its programmes. Behind a trendy outside bar area, the shows are staged in the bleak warehouse of an old brewery, allowing plenty of scope for invention. Proforca’s director, David Brady, cleverly uses this stark setting to bring out the darkness and pathos in Oscar Wilde’s ballad, ‘Reading Gaol’, written in reaction to his time in prison. Free but disgraced, his last work is not only in protest at the Victorian penal system but also an exploration of the paradoxes of morality as he describes the execution of one and the collective feelings of the other inmates. In this production, an updated version, new writing has been incorporated to expand on the ideas of freedom, oppression and conflict.

Beams of light, smoke and sounds effects combine to create an atmosphere of desolation. A scarlet jacket on a red chair is the only focus of colour. Five actors recite the ballad, pacing like prisoners to its plodding meter. At intervals, each in turn offers a character to illustrate the vulnerability of human nature and its consequences. Breaking up the poem with fresh material is effective considering that the rich, detailed language is hard to assimilate in one sitting, some lines being thrown away due to a lack of clarity and expression. However, at almost two hours running time the work could do with more contrast and development to illustrate the various parts of the original text and to expound the ideas it inspires.

The three central stories make the most impact. ‘Human’ uses imaginative, dramatic lighting effects with handheld lamps and a strong performance by Nic James to take us to the jungles of Africa. Interestingly offbeat in its rhythm, ‘Guardian’ sees Malcolm Jeffries anxiously fighting his isolation and in a soulful tale, ‘Innocent’ tells of a country lad, touchingly played by Miles Parker, in prison for his naivety. But it is the first and last parts which require stronger personality to give the play its overall shape. James Vincent underplays the disturbing quality of the cold-blooded ‘Monster’ and the writing of ‘Hero’ (Nick Cope) fails to convincingly finalise the play with its meandering thoughts.

Even though it could do with a spot of further remodelling, it has the novelty of mixing classical and contemporary narrative and a great sense of live performance from the moment we enter the building. The technical aspects are innovative and slick and the actors work well together and individually, and all in a venue which will be a discovery for most.

 

Reviewed by Joanna Hetherington

Photography courtesy Proforça Theatre Company

 


Reading Gaol

Theatre N16 until 3rd August

 

Related
Also by  Proforça Theatre Company
Feel | ★★★★★ | Lion & Unicorn Theatre | March 2018
Feel / More | ★★★★ | Lion & Unicorn Theatre | March 2018

 

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