THE SUN WILL RISE at the Riverside Studios
★★★
“We have had a bite, and the taste does leave us wanting more.”
“We’ve just made some mistakes on a global scale. But we can fix it” says Owen (Mohamed Manso Bangura), the eternal optimist, trying to keep his head above water. Ashley (Alicia O’Neill) is certain the world is about to end – a conviction amplified by the television news bulletins that she listens to. Owen’s perception of Armageddon is on a more personal scale, and he is more worried their relationship is about to end – never mind the rest of the world. Best buddy Charlie (James Douglas Quarcoopome) is a constant presence with his misguided moral support, but it’s hard to buoy someone up when you’re sinking fast yourself.
“The Sun Will Rise” is part of the third Bitesize Festival at the Riverside Studios. Initiated in January last year, during which nine shows took to the Riverside’s stage, the current instalment features over thirty productions in varying stages of development. It is a melting pot of creativity, in which risks can be taken and mistakes can be made without fear or favour. The result is an eclectic mix of performances spanning the worlds of comedy, music, drama, dance and cabaret. There does seem to be a brief, that is loosely adhered to: the shows tend to reflect the world around us and add their own individual commentary on it. This could be accidental because, after all, theatre has done that for many centuries anyway.
In “The Sun Will Rise”, writer Louise Moore superimposes the global state-of-affairs on the domestic, rather like looking at a map where a small dot has been circled and magnified so you can see the detail as well as the big picture. Moore matches the two with a comic flair that often punches, but generally follows comfortable formulas. Its optimistic message, though, certainly stands out amongst the relentless doom and gloom that is currently thrown at us from stage and screen. The clue is in the title.
The characters have more than their fair share of upsets and frustrations. Jobs are lost, promotions passed over, deceptions uncovered and liaisons stretched to breaking point. Yet despite its sixty-minute running time, the pace is laboured. Under Manisha Sondhi’s direction, there is an improvised feel that, instead of infusing freshness and immediacy, gives a sense of unpreparedness. The cast seldom gets the opportunity to dig their claws into their characters. Moore (who also appears as Danielle, Charlie’s long-suffering partner) has assembled a fine portfolio of sketches here, that are aching to be coloured in. That said, there are lovely moments that make us smile, and chew over, in equal measure. The monotone news reports are refracted in the mind of Ashley, satirising the sensationalism and fear-mongering ever-present in our media. The deadpan delivery sharpens the impact.
‘It’s okay not to be okay’ is the resounding message that is accompanied by like-minded platitudes and metaphors. But one thing is for certain (at least for the next five billion or so years), the sun will always rise. It is sometimes easy to forget, but this show is a welcome reminder. The nature of the festival dictates that this is a work in progress. We have had a bite, and the taste does leave us wanting more. Not just more of this particular piece, but more of the Bitesize Festival itself.
Reviewed on 14th July 2023
by Jonathan Evans
Photography courtesy City Lighthouse Theatre Company
Previously reviewed at this venue:
Tarantino Live: Fox Force Five & The Tyranny Of Evil Men | ★★★★★ | June 2023
Killing The Cat | ★★ | March 2023
Cirque Berserk! | ★★★★★ | February 2023
David Copperfield | ★★★ | February 2023
A Level Playing Field | ★★★★ | February 2022
The Devil’s in the Chair | ★★★★ | February 2022
Click here to read all our latest reviews
