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Wolfie

Theatre503

Reviewed – 26th March 2019

★★★★★

“The poeticism and rhythmic word play from writer Ross Willis is spell-binding”

Talking trees, talking cabbage foetus, a yellow boulder for a mother, this isn’t your average story about the care system. Where the topic is more often than not touched upon with bleak pessimism, filled with only doom and gloom, Wolfie tells the tale of abandoned children with lively vibrancy that leaves you laughing and crying all in one go. The bold, imaginative creativity and, quite frankly, mad-hat ideas from the writing and direction (Lisa Spirling) blows your mind. Another wonderfully bonkers and surprising theatrical element is always around the corner. But this trippy spectacle never detracts from the story. So full of heart, this affectionate tale of two sisters is disparately painful and warming, proving the power of love.

This is about the Sharkey Twins. Together through birth, together through – no, that’s the wrong narrative. Life never takes you on your expected course. As these two sisters are suddenly separated, days old, will they ever be able to find each other again? As one is taken in by an unreceptive mother, the other discarded in the woods and brought up by the surrounding wildlife, their lives go down similar debilitating avenues in differing circumstances.

Yes, we hear about children raised in the wild by packs of animals, a la The Jungle Book, but in this production, there is a deep subtext running through where the woods personifies the care system. When you’re released from the wilderness of a care home, and forced into the real world, you’re not equipped with the right tools to be human, let alone an adult. Without blatantly pointing a finger, Wolfie reveals the flaws and general lack of support the care system offers with evocative subtlety.

Tour de force performances from Erin Doherty and Sophie Melville leave you in complete awe as they masterfully glide or jolt between the twenty-odd characters that together they assume with such precision. The poeticism and rhythmic word play from writer Ross Willis is spell-binding. It’s astonishing to think that this is his debut play! Certainly one to watch for the future as are Doherty and Melville.

It is a multi-sensory experience with bubbles, glitter galore, balloons, rave music and audience participation, effortlessly integrated into being integral to the story. I’m not one for being incorporated into the action, as an audience member, but Doherty and Melville do so in such a playful and inviting way that it feels a pleasure to be included in some small form.

An epic journey from inside the womb, through to the difficulties of adulthood, our human struggle and constant pursuit for love takes precedent in this production. The message to take away is that a life without love, or little of it, may affect our path forever. Never lose your sparkle. Wolfie certainly never does. It shines brightly as one of the best theatrical experiences so far this year.

Reviewed by Phoebe Cole

Photography by Helen Murray

Wolfie

Theatre503 until 13th April

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Her Not Him | ★★★ | January 2018

Br’er Cotton | ★★★★★ | March 2018

Isaac Came Home From the Mountain | ★★★★ | May 2018

Caterpillar | ★★★★ | September 2018

The Art of Gaman | ★★★★ | October 2018

Hypocrisy | ★★★½ | November 2018

Cinderella and the Beanstalk | ★★★★ | December 2018

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

★★★

“A strong script keeps ‘Cuzco’ interesting, but the actors fail to live up to the words”

It has apparently been seven years since Theatre503 have programmed a piece of theatre in translation, and ‘Cuzco’, a poignant and symbolic play by Valencian playwright Víctor Sánchez Rodríguez, proves an intriguing way to end this hiatus.

Beginning in the Peruvian city of Cuzco, Dilek Rose and Gareth Kieran Jones play an unnamed couple on holiday, passing through Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes on their way to Machu Pichu. Told through scenes in various hotel bedrooms, the couple’s journey of self-discovery quickly turns self-destructive, and, in the end, the fate of their relationship hangs in the balance.

William Gregory’s elegant translation maintains the Spanish background of the characters, allowing the tensions between tourism and a fraught colonial history to come front and centre. As the woman, Dilek Rose wanders the cities’ streets getting into fights with tourists, but bringing an Andean boy to bathe in their hotel room is the final straw for her partner. The woman’s arch frustrated to fulfilled is well-realised and convincingly played by Rose, whereas Jones, increasingly exasperated as the man, seems monochromatic and flat. They never quite gel as a couple, meaning the slow death of their relationship feels a dull inevitability.

Kate O’Connor directs, and in conjunction with Jai Morjaria’s effective lighting, creates some lovely stage imagery, particularly in the woman’s final few scenes bathing and partying. Although the use of monologue in the script offers some eloquent prose for each actor to chew on, the decision to play these stories facing out pulls focus to the audience rather than the couple, and means the impact of the words often fails to land.

A strong script keeps ‘Cuzco’ interesting, but the actors fail to live up to the words, and considering how important chemistry is in two-handers like this, it’s a real shame. Born from the work of the Out of the Wings Collective, Gregory’s translation expertly showcases the vitality of theatre translation, and we can only hope for more theatres to programme work like this.

Reviewed by Joseph Prestwich

Photography by Holly Lucas

Theatre503

Reviewed – 26th March 2019

★★★★★

“The poeticism and rhythmic word play from writer Ross Willis is spell-binding”

Reviewed by Phoebe Cole

Photography by Helen Murray

Wolfie

Theatre503 until 13th April

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Theatre503

Reviewed – 29th January 2019

★★★

“A strong script keeps ‘Cuzco’ interesting, but the actors fail to live up to the words”

It has apparently been seven years since Theatre503 have programmed a piece of theatre in translation, and ‘Cuzco’, a poignant and symbolic play by Valencian playwright Víctor Sánchez Rodríguez, proves an intriguing way to end this hiatus.

Reviewed by Joseph Prestwich

Photography by Holly Lucas

Cuzco

Theatre503 until 16th February

Previously reviewed at this venue:

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