I.E.D. gets it first full-length outing as part of Theatre N16’s ‘Aftershock’ festival; a month long event featuring plays exploring the aftermath of conflict. This original play, written by Martin McNamara, steps back to the recent past of 2008, as Captain Agnes Bennet (Safron Beck), Army Notification Officer, is tasked with informing the families of soldiers killed in combat of their loved one’s death. Accompanying her on this ‘knock’ is Private Iain Maginnis (Jordan Fyffe), a young man from the same platoon as the deceased. Bennet, a veteran of these calls, appears frustrated by Maginnis’ presence, a tactic the Major thinks will benefit the family, but Bennet thinks will only interfere with her carefully planned regime.
Safron Beck as Captain Agnes Bennet provides a level and nuanced performance, gaining the audience’s allegiance and empathy; a tough task for a character who rarely lets down their guard. Jordan Fyffe’s Maginnis is of stark contrast to Bennet, charismatic with a youthful naivety. Fyffe used the intimate setting of the N16 theatre to his advantage, directing speech at audience members as if they were people from his past. He maintains this intimacy with the audience right through to the final scenes of the piece, where the true nature of the relationship with his fallen comrade is revealed.
Through the perception of Bennet by the male characters, I.E.D. attempts to address the expectations of women with respect to men. We scoff when Major Lawless, played with humour by Matt Betts, suggests that during a ‘knock’ women provide the emotional support whilst men provide the stoicism, as we know that for Bennet and Maginnis the roles are reversed. However, when Maginnis later asserts Bennet is not enough of a woman for being too hardened to the grief, Bennet is debased. The motivations behind Bennet’s tough exterior and fixation with process could simply be read as a mechanism to cope with the trauma of warfare; however, I would have loved to see a more in depth challenge to the societal expectations of Bennet’s character, questioning the gendered roles society ascribes to women and men with regard to emotional labour. In fact, Bennet opens up and reveals more of herself in the final scenes, thus in some senses re-gaining a womanhood, which should always have been afforded to her.
I.E.D. attempts to show the hardening of spirits, caging of emotions and locking away of memories that are required to endure army service. However, despite the often solemn subject matter, the script was peppered with humour throughout. From the director Rebecca Lyons’ note in the programme, it is clear that the production was not without its difficulties, but it’s team accomplished a thoroughly genuine and well-crafted piece that wholly exceeded my expectations.
“her unique monologues about a variety of women were conveyed brilliantly and were all very intriguing”
‘Mouths in a Glass’ is a quirky one-woman show, written and performed by the incredibly talented Sophie Dora-Hall. Her unique monologues about a variety of women were conveyed brilliantly and were all very intriguing. My favourite throughout the night was her portrayal of a very restless and anxious housewife, who soon regrets asking her neighbours to come round for a spot of home-made hummus. This was very amusing as Dora-Hall had created this character to be stuck in the wrong era; a 1960s style housewife trapped in the 21st century. I was impressed by not only how she delivered the monologue, but how she had created such a clever idea.
Another monologue I very much enjoyed was ‘A Doll’s Life,’ where she adopts the role of being a doll, one that would often be dragged and pulled around by her owner Jodie. Sitting very still with stickers on her face and lipstick smudged around her lips, it was obvious that this doll was fed up with the way her owner was treating her. At times, this monologue reminded me of Stewie Griffin from Family Guy, a small baby with a very posh and sophisticated accent, who is not afraid to speak his mind. Much like Stewie, this doll was also very outspoken and revealed how much she hated going to the “devils playground”. However, what really made me laugh out loud, was when she described how her friend “tiny bloody Tim,” had recently been bought from Oxfam and how his willy had been chewed off. Hilarious and a real crowd-pleaser.
I found the use of a minimalistic set particularly effective. Only having a chair, a table and a clothing rack, allowed myself and the other audience members to appreciate Sophie Dora-Hall’s natural talent, without getting distracted by other factors.
Engaging and enjoyable, Sophie Dora-Hall delivered a high standard performance. She is a very funny, talented and versatile young actress, and I believe she has a bright future ahead of her.
