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The Open

The Space

Reviewed – 26th September 2019

★★★

“As topical and in vogue the offbeat concept is, the final execution does not live up to what it promises”

Anyone for a game of golf? Well get your clubs out and tee up, as there’s a new course in town, and it’s unlike any other seen before. The Open explores the ramifications of our near-distant future in an absurd yet unnervingly plausible fashion, but lacks an inventive story to follow the strong concept.

The year is 2050. It’s post-Brexit and Great Britain looks a little different to how we know it. Now called the GBGC (Great British Golf Course), our beloved country has been bought and taken over by the one and only Donald Trump, and turned into a mass of putting holes. It’s a bleak landscape. Protagonists Arthur (Priyank Morjaria) and Patrick (Tom Blake) are stuck in this dystopian world, despondently going about their monotonous work on the course. Arthur more diligently does what he is told, whilst Patrick yearns for the past and to see his love Jana (Heidi Niemi) again. Her unexpected return causes havoc, and with not much time to spare, gives these two men an ultimatum that will change their lives.

As topical and in vogue the offbeat concept is, the final execution does not live up to what it promises. With so much exposition to have to get across, most scenes fall flat as they become discussion based with little action ever taking place. The second half does certainly pick up pace, but writer and director Florence Bell could have created more dynamic scenarios to portray instead. At times you’re left questioning small but niggling plot holes, such as, what’s happening to the UK residents who aren’t working for the golf course? There’s also the bizarre choice of never mentioning Donald Trump, even though he is the sole reason Britain has turned into a vast manicured turf for the rich. Possibly it’s a directorial choice to only elude to him, but it simply does not work.

There is however some undoubtedly worthy attempts from Bell at examining the disparity between the rich and poor, imagining a future where the gap has become even wider. Where the UK are still reliant on people from overseas to do our low-paid jobs, and the xenophobia from Trump and Brexit’s rhetoric has exploded into awful action.

The cast try their best with putting life into the lacklustre script. In particular, Morjaria as Arthur gives a standout performance that feels truthful, with clear character progression, where others can come across one-dimensional or without real motivations.

The set design by Tom Craig is a pleasing sight. The simple but ever so effective use of green Astro turf along the whole stage immediately transports you to the artificial, Disneyland-esque perfection that the GBGC is trying to sell. The stark contrast of the stage for the second half is a nice visual indication of the murkier business that goes on underneath the corporations facade.

All in all, the whole concept just feels too big to fit into its 105 minutes running time. What strives to be an inventive new take on the dystopian-thriller genre, made popular by the likes of Black Mirror, turns out to be mostly predictable and not enthralling enough. Just like golf really.

Reviewed by Phoebe Cole

Photography by Kit Dambite

The Open

The Space until 12th October

Previously reviewed at this venue:

The Conductor | ★★★★ | March 2019

We Know Now Snowmen Exist | ★★★ | March 2019

Post Mortem | ★★★★ | April 2019

The Wasp | ★★★★ | April 2019

Delicacy | ★★★½ | May 2019

Me & My Doll | ★★ | May 2019

Mycorrhiza | ★★★ | May 2019

Holy Land | ★★★ | June 2019

Parenthood | ★★★½ | July 2019

Chekhov In Moscow | ★★★★ | August 2019

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Chekhov in Moscow

The Space

Reviewed – 28th August 2019

★★★★

“the success of this play really lies with the performances”

Chekhov in Moscow at The Space Arts Centre on the Isle of Dogs will delight Chekhov fans. The script is packed with memorable lines and is performed by talented actors. If the set and lighting are a bit makeshift, it does not matter. This lively script, written by Mike Carter, and with some help from Chekhov himself, takes the audience to Moscow in the year 1896 or thereabouts, where the playwright is still smarting from the disastrous reception of The Seagull, even
though he is a successful and celebrated short story writer.

Enter actress Olga Knipper (whom Chekhov will marry in 1901) and director Konstantin Stanislavski, who together save him from despair and turn his playwriting life around. But instead of focusing on Chekhov’s rise to fame with the Moscow Art Theatre, which Stanislavski founded, Carter chooses instead to focus on the short plays that Chekhov wrote. His “vaudevilles” as the playwright described them dismissively. Chekhov in Moscow begins with Knipper and Stanislavski waiting impatiently for some new pages that Chekhov has promised them. The playwright soon appears, or rather, tries to sneak as unobtrusively as possible into the rehearsal room because, of course — and every playwright will be familiar with this moment — he has not written them. When confronted with his failure to produce the playwriting goods, Chekhov quips “New pages? Just put people in a room and start them arguing.” And we are off. The next fifty five minutes consist of Olga, Konstantin, and Chekhov’s favourite actor, Alexander Artyom, trying to get Chekhov back to work. They hit on the idea of presenting some extracts from Chekhov’s shorts The Bear and A Tragedian In Spite Of Himself. But while the playwright writhes with embarrassment, or covers his head with his hands at the revival of these early works in 1896, audiences in 2019 will find plenty to laugh at in these charming pieces.

The strengths of this production of Chekhov in Moscow are not just in the writing, but in the acting. There is some fine directing by Elizabeth Quinn as well. But the success of this play really lies with the performances of Louise Devlin, playing Knipper, Edward Tidy as Stanislavski, Anthony Cozens as Chekhov, and John Rayment taking on the Falstaffian role of Chekhov’s friend Alexander Artyom. If there is one performance that deserves to be singled out from this talented quartet, it would be that of Louise Devlin, who brings both versatility and intensity to the role of Knipper (and female and male roles in the vaudevilles). Her acting is persuasive, and by the end of Chekhov in Moscow she has, as Knipper, persuaded the character of Chekhov himself. “You make me feel magnificent” she tells him. Inspirational words for any playwright to hear.

So if you have ever thought that Chekhov is not the playwright for you, try Chekhov in Moscow as an entertaining introduction to the playwright and his milieu. You will even enjoy the easy bus ride from Canary Wharf to The Space Arts Centre, where you can enjoy a drink in the charming cafe before the beginning of the show.

The Space

Reviewed – 26th September 2019

★★★

“As topical and in vogue the offbeat concept is, the final execution does not live up to what it promises”

The cast try their best with putting life into the lacklustre script. In particular, Morjaria as Arthur gives a standout performance that feels truthful, with clear character progression, where others can come across one-dimensional or without real motivations.

All in all, the whole concept just feels too big to fit into its 105 minutes running time. What strives to be an inventive new take on the dystopian-thriller genre, made popular by the likes of Black Mirror, turns out to be mostly predictable and not enthralling enough. Just like golf really.

Reviewed by Phoebe Cole

Photography by Kit Dambite

The Open

The Space until 12th October

Previously reviewed at this venue:

The Space

Reviewed – 28th August 2019

★★★★

“the success of this play really lies with the performances”

Reviewed by Dominica Plummer

Photography by Greg Baldock

Chekhov in Moscow

The Space until 1st September

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: