Tag Archives: Theatre N16

Rough – 2 Stars

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Rough

Rough

Theatre N16

Reviewed – 3rd September 2018

★★

“Good writing can often carry a shaky performance, however it does not work the other way around”

 

Rough is advertised on the Theatre N16 website as ‘a new play about love’. A very vague but open title, it provides the audience with little indication of what is to come. Kirstie Marshall, who also stars as the protagonist Jade, writes this short one-person play. She tells a story from her adolescence growing up in ‘a Valley in the middle of nowhere’ where Rob, the boy of her dreams, turns out not to be a boy, but transgender. This shocking revelation starts a chain of events in which Jade seemingly learns about gender, bullying and love.

Whilst watching this performance I was conscious that I was reviewing Marshall as both the performer, and the writer. This is a revealing and courageous position to put yourself in, no matter how experienced the writer/performer is, and I was impressed with Kirstie Marshall the performer. From the outset, she provided buckets of energy in presenting a piece that is clearly very well-rehearsed and fully committed to. If anything, at times, it appeared too well rehearsed and the piece needed some room for spontaneity. There were often moments of Jade telling anecdotes that she knew were ‘funny’, however it would have been more satisfying in these moments to spend more time connecting with the audience rather than trying to force laughs. Overall, however, she carried the piece with assured confidence.

The same cannot be said for the writing. What seemed to be an attempt at creating a polemic assessment on gender and love was instead a fractured and incoherent attempt. This was highlighted by a series of inconsistencies in the plot: Jade obsesses over Rob’s body at the start of the play then claims their relationship was not about looks, their romance is a fleeting crush at best yet she suddenly announces that she has always been in love with him, and she criticises her town for being narrow minded and insensitive yet is happy for her friend to spread Rob’s secret to the entire school. Indeed, the way Jade treats Rob, who actually trusts her with a deeply sensitive secret, is awful. Then, at the end of the play, they somehow end up together and Jade seems to have a new-found understanding for transgender issues. All of this could be argued as character choices; however, it came across as inexperienced writing and a lack of clear vision as to what the message of the play is.

As mentioned earlier, writing and acting in your own play is a tough job, and one not to be taken lightly. The skills required to act are incredibly different from the skills needed to write an entertaining and coherent play. Good writing can often carry a shaky performance, however it does not work the other way around. Marshall should be given credit for the work she has clearly put in, and learn from this difficult venture.

 

Reviewed by Edward Martin

 


Rough

Theatre N16 until 6th September

 

 

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Shakespeare’s Mad Women – 4 Stars

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Women

Shakespeare’s Mad Women

Theatre N16

Reviewed – 11th June 2018

★★★★

“a believable and intriguing world, inhabited by real characters”

 

This is Lady Garden Theatre’s first production, and I hope it won’t be their last. This darkly hilarious play, written by Abigail Smith, who also directs, takes us to a strange nowhere land inhabited by Lady Macbeth and Ophelia. They drink tea and watch, staring at a scene the audience can only hear, as Juliet spirals towards her inevitable demise. When she dies she joins them in their strange limbo. Gala Wesson’s Juliet is delightfully bewildered to find herself not dead, not with Romeo, and in the company of two strange women. She’s not about to accept that she won’t see her Romeo again. So they shut her in a cupboard until she calms down.

Throughout the play the characters experience flashbacks and speak the words Shakespeare gave them. This is done really beautifully, with the other two cast members going into a natural slow motion as the speaker relives her pain. Gabrielle Pausey is a feisty yet touching Ophelia, and I would love to see her play the role in Hamlet. She brings a freshness and believability to the Shakespearean text that is present during the whole play. Lady Macbeth, played by Holly Cuffley, has been in this limbo the longest, but even she can’t find a way to escape. There are some very funny bits of dialogue that had the audience in stitches and some excellent choreographed sections.

The only problem with the production was that way too much of the action took place with the actors sitting on the floor. In a theatre with hardly any rake this meant that they were often invisible to anyone not in the front row. At times I felt as though I was listening to a radio play. This is the only directorial mis-step by Abigail Smith. She handles the rest of the action really well, creating a believable and intriguing world, inhabited by real characters. The dawning realisation that Hamlet and Romeo were both rather self-obsessed, and an interesting discovery by Lady Ma, that I won’t describe here as it’s a real spoiler, lead to a growing understanding in the women. The end is a rather glorious set piece.

The production is enhanced by Mel Wesson’s sound design, from great tunes such as Crazy, to a nice atmospheric buzz. The set is simple and interesting, enhancing the action and atmosphere.

I really enjoyed the play and hope that it gets taken on to a wider audience. Nice one Lady Garden!

 

Reviewed by Katre

Photography by Max Curtis

 


Shakespeare’s Mad Women

Theatre N16 until 13th June

 

 

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