Tag Archives: The Yard Theatre

A Kettle of Fish – 3 Stars

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Kettle

A Kettle of Fish

The Yard Theatre

Reviewed – 27th September 2018

★★★

“plays with how we experience theatre in a really interesting way, but doesn’t succeed in using these features to their full potential within the piece”

 

We are handed headphones as we walk into the theatre, that I test as I wait for the show to start. The music is a cheerful, nondescript jazz piano piece. The Yard’s stage has been divided into three in a box-like setting designed by Ingrid Hu. Stage right a living room, neat and clean, centre stage an airplane, and stage left a gauze box that is being projected upon.

Lisa is going on a business trip. She is leaving her house, her beautiful house, in the care of her dad who, on the morning of her departure, has managed to fill her with “active disgust”. After interactions like this she likes to imagine unscrewing her head and replacing it with a different head so that she can see through different eyes. She is on her way to a country whose habits she has studied in great depth, but suspended above the ground, she is delivered some terrible news about her life back home.

Brad Birch’s latest play examines grief, loss of control and connection, via a well-crafted descension into surrealism, though for me this could’ve begun earlier, as this is where the play really comes into its own. Too much of the piece feels like a waiting game and risks feeling one note at points.

Wendy Kweh plays Lisa in this one-woman piece. She delivers a fantastically strong performance, committed and full of mounting anxiety, creating the other characters around her with skill and precision.

The design is visually and conceptually stunning, however it is not used to its full potential. The projections feel underused, and inconsistent in their design. They lack a feeling of cohesion. The lighting design (Joshua Gadsby) feels unsubtle, the changes too obvious. Max Pappenheim’s soundscape, which accompanies the show via our headphones, works really well predominantly but the whispering vocals add an unnecessary touch of melodrama to what is otherwise a very genuine and relatable situation.

A Kettle of Fish is a brave and exciting production directed by Caitlin McLeod, that plays with how we experience theatre in a really interesting way, but doesn’t succeed in using these features to their full potential within the piece. The writing and the production are carried by a stunning performance from Wendy Kweh.

 

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

Photography by Helen Murray

 


A Kettle of Fish

The Yard Theatre until 13th October

 

Previously reviewed at The Yard Theatre:
Buggy Baby | ★★★★ | March 2018
Three Sisters by RashDash after Chekhov | ★★★★ | May 2018
A New and Better You | ★★★★ | June 2018
The Act | ★★★½ | July 2018

 

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

 

 

The Act – 3.5 Stars

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Act

The Act

The Yard Theatre

Reviewed – 31st July 2018

★★★½

“it is always important and refreshing to see young people maximising the potential of theatrical interaction”

 

A company of ten dynamic young people tumble and strut into the Yard’s open, sports hall-esque space, and bring the whole room to vibrant life. Though structurally uneven and oddly paced, this did not detract from the warmth and talent of the ensemble, or the topic they explored.

Sex: the act which marks the shift from childhood to adulthood. Society is obsessed with it, yet we rarely speak constructively about it. Through a playful combination of short scenes, interspersed with monologues and movement pieces, these young people don’t only talk: they dance, laugh and roll around, confronting taboo and creating a really explosive, yet tender, theatrical result. Show creator James Blakey clearly brought out the strengths of each company member, and it was clear that they love and support one another.

Occasionally, the shift between different tones was a little clumsy. Humour was used inventively, and captured the individual voices of the ensemble, though sometimes it would have been braver to let a more heartfelt tone settle over the audience. Simon Jones’ movement direction had some beautiful moments, but often it felt a little interposed on the action. The final sequence, though mesmerising in places, could have used a little more choreographic order. That said, it is always important and refreshing to see young people maximising the potential of theatrical interaction and, for the most part, The Act did just that.

Charlie Damigos’ design revolved around the company changing in and out of a kooky mishmash of clothes on hanging rails, which they also incorporated as part of the set. It was colourful, fun and original, and great to see a company of young people be dressed inventively. The costumes complimented the haphazard, exploratory nature of the piece. Jamie Platt lit the unorthodox space exceptionally well, and add some crucial subtlety to the piece, as well as striking flashes of bright colour.

Although The Act would have benefited from some further honing and structuring, the creative ensemble still had an elegant cohesion which was a delight to witness. They challenged themselves with some quirky audience participation, incorporated music, and each had an individual spark which, when combined, made a fire.

 

Reviewed by Eloïse Poulton

Photography by Camilla Greenwell

 

The Act

The Yard Theatre until 2nd August

 

Related
Previously reviewed at this venue
Buggy Baby | ★★★★ | March 2018
Three Sisters by RashDash | ★★★★ | May 2018
A New and Better you | ★★★★ | June 2018

 

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