Tag Archives: Sarah Daniels

HEAD-ROT HOLIDAY

★★★★

The Hope Theatre

HEAD-ROT HOLIDAY at The Hope Theatre

★★★★

Head-rot Holiday

“a terrifically performed and well written play”

 

At a time when many theatregoers are looking to make their annual Christmas pantomime visit, it is interesting to see a show set over the festive period that addresses the subject of mental health in secure ‘special hospitals’ and examines the people who probably should never have been sent there.

Head-rot Holiday is a challenging, yet entertaining black comedy that gives an insight behind the closed doors of a secure institution. Whilst in the main shocking and heartbreaking, the performance shows that sometimes in tragedy there can also be humour. It was written in the early 1990s by Sarah Daniels to highlight injustices in the way that women were incarcerated in places such as Broadmoor Hospital and subsequently how they were often poorly treated. Her research for the play found that daily life was often monotonous and demeaning, women patients were often subjected to sexualised behaviour with many too intimidated to complain.

Bringing this research to life would mean so much material to cover so we see only a snapshot. Featuring three exceptionally competent female actors telling the story of three nurses, three patients and three further characters who have had a significant impact on their lives as well as they have on them. Set in a fictional version of a Broadmoor style hospital we learn about each character through monologues and set pieces in a fast moving, engaging storyline that shows whether you are patient or carer, just how easily life can sometimes take you the wrong way.

As the audience filters into the theatre we see what we later learn are two patients and a nurse. The characters speak with individual audience members which was initially quite disarming. Should we interact or merely watch? The three actors switch into each of their three character roles with ease and are convincing as they portray three very different people. Emily Tucker was worth the price of the admission alone particularly in the manner she played the damaged Ruth and senior nurse Barbara who is in an abusive home relationship. Amy McAllister performs as Dee, Jackie and Chris whilst the parts of Claudia, Sharon and Angel are played by Evlyne Oyedokun.

Will Maynard’s precise direction means each of the scenes moves smoothly and effectively. The simple grey set (Chanto Silva) makes the audience feel that they are literally in a prison. Lighting (Chris McDonnell) is effective particularly with the monologues. The sound (Keri Chesser) appropriately supported and enhanced the atmosphere.

Head-rot Holiday is a terrifically performed and well written play, though it could be argued that some more could have been learned about the main characters and less about the disco the women were expected to attend. Anyone with an interest in mental health or the terrible injustices that went on for decades in special hospitals should beat a path to the Hope Theatre.

 

Reviewed by Steve Sparrow

Reviewed – 29th November 2018

Photography by Mark Overall

 


Head-rot Holiday

Hope Theatre until 22nd December

 

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:
Cream Tea & Incest | ★★★★ | April 2018
Adam & Eve | ★★★★ | May 2018
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

 

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

 

Masterpieces – 2 Stars

Masterpieces

Masterpieces

Finborough Theatre

Reviewed – 27th April 2018

★★

“the empty stage makes it difficult not to disengage with the narrative at every scene change”

 

Behind sheets of plastic that reflect red lighting, magazine covers that feature naked women are plastered across the walls. This is the backdrop to our narrative, a revival of Sarah Daniels’ radical play ‘Masterpieces’ first produced in 1983, which discusses the possible ramifications of the casual consumption of porn on everyday society and the way that women are viewed and treated as a result of that. We begin at a dinner party where three women endure their husbands sharing rape jokes, sparking Rowena’s own investigation into porn and its effect on the way men see women, with extreme consequences.

Olivia Darnley plays Rowena and delivers a standout performance, tight, energetic and committed. Darnley approaches the role with a fantastic balance of warmth and strength, and doesn’t waste a word of this well-written script. Rob Ostlere is strong as Yvonne’s horrible husband, but otherwise the male characters are one dimensional, not helped by predominantly weak performances. Sophie Doherty’s Jennifer starts promisingly but quickly becomes generalised and undecided in her character choices and uncertain in her movement. Doherty also has a tendency to swallow her words so that we lose moments of comedy in the text. Whilst Tessie Orange-Turner has some lovely moments, she stumbles over her words and seems to be constantly ‘acting’, so it is increasingly difficult to believe in or empathise with her, a trap that many of the actors fall into in this production.

Melissa Dunne’s directorial choices are clumsy and lack detail. Full wine glasses are refilled and the same pile of laundry is unfolded and refolded before our eyes over and over again. In multiple scenes there is an overuse of movement with no reason behind it, people sitting down and standing up, or even circling the stage in what is clearly a device, rather than a character motivated movement. The scene changes are achingly long, often ten seconds of wasted empty stage for no apparent reason as we listen to music of the era. Whilst music early on helps set the scene, the continued use of it between every scene change (of which there are many) is ineffective, protracted and grating, and the empty stage makes it difficult not to disengage with the narrative at every scene change. Whilst the set design (by Verity Quinn) is visually appealing it adds little to the narrative itself, and is unhelpful when it comes to scene changes.

Reviving this play in a relevant way is no easy feat as the conversation has moved on so far from the concrete anti-porn message of the piece. Daniels’ narrative insists on a direction correlation between violence and pornographic images and films, and dismisses any idea that women might enjoy sex, sex toys and pornography themselves. It is not the nuanced discussions we are used to surrounding these topics today, however Daniels’ play still has the potential to be topical and contemporary in its portrayal of rape culture, and the empowering narratives of four women refusing to accept cheating husbands and abusive bosses as the norm. However Dunne’s direction does not push this piece far enough, and it falls short of what it could achieve.

‘Masterpieces’ is a disappointing revival of a well-written and potentially extremely topical and exciting play, let down by weak, over-acted performances and ineffective directorial choices.

 

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

Photography by Bill Prentice

 


Masterpieces

Finborough Theatre until 19th May

 

Related
Previously at this venue
Returning to Haifa | ★★★★ | March 2018
Checkpoint Chana | ★★★★ | March 2018
White Guy on the Bus | ★★★★ | March 2018

 

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