“predominantly the writing is beautiful, lyrical and deeply human”
Paul smashes things, the city, the weekend, avocados. He works in marketing for a property development firm. London is a choice Paul made – he chose to move here and so he believes he has a greater claim to it than those who were simply born here. There are strangers in him though, Matt, Mark and Mike, the names he alternates between for Grindr hookups, and on certain mornings coffee menus look like hieroglyphics. Wendy has lived in London all her life. She is an art therapist working with alcoholics and homeless people. She carries a suitcase and a Sports Direct bag filled with possessions belonging to her ex-boyfriend. She might be going to Seville, maybe. They meet in St Giles Church, where the site-specific production is also performed. She is here for peace and quiet, he won’t stop checking his phone. She recognises him from when he knocked her bag over on the tube escalator this morning. He seems barely conscious of her existence.
As we learn about the two very different lives that have lead this pair to the same place, a narrative of disconnection becomes, at last, a story about connections made between people in the most unexpected of places. Two personal stories are contextualised by vital discussions about gentrification, homelessness and class. The characters are well-crafted, clearly defined, and delivered by equally strong performances from Sarah Malin as Wendy and Chris Polick as Paul. Polick’s performance is layered and moving, whilst Malin brings a playfulness to the script. This is a well balanced duo.
The majority of the piece is delivered in an unusual third person, with each actor doubling as the characters in the other’s life – distinctly different characters but never overdone. These moments of doubling, coupled with the moments of direct interaction, are some of the strongest of the show, and a little more focus on developing or extending these points could create a more balanced whole. The third person style takes a little longer to really engage with making for a slow start, and at points, the writing tries to do too much, it spills over with words. The epithet, “show, don’t tell” is applicable here. But predominantly the writing (by Marcelo Dos Santos) is beautiful, lyrical and deeply human, and the third person style seems to work more and more effectively as the production progresses. The gradual release of information, the witty grasp of language and the deeply moving trajectory are a credit to the quality of both the production’s writing and execution. Director Gemma Kerr has the actors utilising the whole space, delivering lines from different pews, from the pulpit even, which works really well.
The moments of music, composed by Edward Lewis are Sondheim-esque, talk/sung at points. The music is undoubtedly beautiful but these are not my favourite moments of the play – in fact the points where the actors speak over music chime more with me – but they do work and seem particularly appropriate in the church setting. Unfortunately Malin’s vocal capability is not quite up to some of the higher melodies, and these moments do take us out of the world of the play.
Some development is required for this piece to reach its full potential, but ‘The End of History’ is still a moving and powerful story, tender and personal, thought provoking in its social context.
“carefully-designed, well-written, brilliantly performed show; a comedy with bite which tells a gripping story”
Sugar Baby, the one-man show written by Alan Harris and performed by Alex Griffin-Griffiths, is a sixty minute comedy roller-coaster. It’s outlandish, funny, and very entertaining. We follow Marc on his journey during one crazy day in Cardiff involving drug dealers, £6000, and Billy the seal. “Seriously, there’s a seal in this story,” Marc tells us at the beginning of the show, setting the tone for the fantastical plot.
Griffin-Griffiths plays Marc, a young man from Cardiff who loves his dad, hasn’t seen his mum in years, and works as a drug dealer, but only makes about £200 a week; “I know, not exactly Pablo Escobar, but it keeps me going.” Griffin-Griffiths does a fantastic job not only playing Marc but a multitude of characters including Oggy, the slimy loan shark; Lisa, the girl who used to fancy him in school; and his mum, Celia. The most notable thing about his performance is his physicality; he plays these characters extremely over the top, giving them each a distinctive physical quirk which makes the quick switching between them clear, but also amusing. Catherine Paskell’s superb direction definitely deserves a mention as, unlike many solo plays, the space is used imaginatively and moves the story forward at an exciting pace.
Alan Harris’ dark and funny script really holds you as an audience member. It’s a little unclear if we are supposed to suspend our disbelief and believe that everything this charming, but clearly unreliable, narrator is telling us, or if we are supposed to view the show as some kind of insane fantasy, at least in part. Either way, the script is witty and crude and a very good story. The ending could be a little stronger, but Harris does succeed in making us root for his complicated protagonist from start to finish, which is no easy feat.
The lighting is simple with a couple of nice specials when time seems to slow down and everything goes a bit “Matrixy,” to paraphrase Marc. Daniel Lawrence’s sound design is excellent, with grime music underpinning almost every scene but without ever distracting from the story.
Overall, Sugar Baby is carefully-designed, well-written, brilliantly performed show; a comedy with bite which tells a gripping story.
