The play opens with all four characters on stage interacting with the music from the generation they are portraying. Although this is initially confusing each persona develops as the play unfolds and all eventually becomes clear!
Emily Thornton as “the Woman” delivers a brilliant monologue detailing her move from inner city London to Manchester in order to seek a new life for herself and find out what else is out there. As each of the remaining three are introduced, we find out how music influences and shapes the course of their lives.
They are all deeply passionate about the music of their time. Spanning 50 years we see how music shapes their lives, affects the decisions they make along the way and ultimately ties them together and deepens the bonds they have. As the storyline unfolds, we see the grandson seeking a new life and hope from the city his grandmother left behind all those years ago.
Rubie Ozanne as “the girl” delivers a perfect portrayal of a petulant and sassy teenager – incredibly believable with great stage presence.
The simple set and intimate venue means the movement, acting and music are intensified and you very quickly become drawn in by the characters. At times I felt that the storyline wasn’t fully developed … it was unclear as to why “the woman” was leaving London and thought her motivations could be better explained. I also felt that the use of the music could be further explored – it was such a key component to the plot I was expecting there to be more of it rather than short snippets! Just as a tune got me toe tapping it suddenly stopped! At 60 minutes with no interval this is a play that with a little bit of development could easily be a 5 star production.
With Aaron Price and Alexander Knott completing the outstanding acting from a talented young cast, Boxless Physical Theatre are clearly a talented bunch of actors and creatives – looking forward to seeing what they produce in the future.
Loop has words by Alexander Knott and moves by Zöe Grain Loop.
Scram Collective presents their debut production which asks what an ordinary person would do if given the power to do anything – could they lead a normal life or would they simply be overwhelmed by their abilities? Whimsy is a surreal piece that combines quick dialogue with intense physicality to explore themes of corruption, domestic abuse and generational complacency.
“Sick of your life? I’ll give you a life!” Aoife can do anything she wants. She doesn’t clock in for work, or pay for her meals, and instead the world simply does what she asks of it. With infinite power and infinite potential, an innocent person standing in Aoife’s way doesn’t stand a chance.
Scram Collective aim to create new work based on human experience as well as reinventing old favourites with a touch of the surreal, keeping them dark, comic and a little bit unusual. Company co-founder and writer of Whimsy Alex Newport says:
“Scram Collective was formed with an attitude of ‘doing it ourselves’ rather than waiting for the phone to ring. While this presents a massive challenge, it also gives a wonderful sense of creative freedom, and we’re so pleased that we can create work for ourselves and other emerging artists. Writing Whimsy has been a terrific experience, mainly due to having such a positive and hard-working team. A team who will be brutally honest on whether a scene works or not, helping to create a piece that is personal, but well-rounded.”
