White Bear Theatre Archives - Page 7 of 18

The Co-op

White Bear Theatre

Reviewed – 15th January 2020

★★★

“the trio take the art of self-deprecation to a brand-new level that is a joy to watch”

‘Welcome to the Co-Op; the acting agency run by actors for actors’. For many individuals in the acting profession these words are a cause for celebration. They want to be in control of their career and the benefits of a co-operative agency over a conventional one is that it is managed by the actors themselves. There is no pressure to say yes to jobs they don’t want in order to keep their agent happy; they can see exactly what they are being submitted for and they are working in a team of like-minded, dedicated people keen to support you.

Let’s run that line again: ‘Welcome to the Co-op’. Coming from the mouths of the dysfunctional pair of struggling actors portrayed by Gabriel Fogarty-Graveson and Cara Steele, these words are more likely to have you reaching for the bottle in desperation and fear rather than celebration. Fogarty-Graveson and Steele are Jimmy and Caz respectively; desperately trying to keep their heads above water as their agency is sinking fast in a sea of unpaid bills, disconnected utilities and silent phone lines. Their best friend has deserted them having landed a job in ‘Holby City’. Enter Charlie (Felix Grainger), a babe in the woods thesp who might just be the answer to their problems.

This is the debut play by ‘Make It Beautiful Theatre Company’, described as a love letter to theatre and film, but also comes across as a love letter to themselves. As a result, the humour touches on indulgence and is in danger of alienating audiences beyond their immediate circle. Nevertheless, the laughs come thick and fast throughout this sixty minutes of anarchic mayhem, and the trio take the art of self-deprecation to a brand-new level that is a joy to watch. Their quick fire pace should be enough to sustain the piece, but the momentum is sometimes stalled by baffling moments of unnecessary physicality. At one point for instance, Charlie performs a weird dance to Eddy Grant’s ‘Electric Avenue’ as an audition for Hamlet.

Gabriel Fogarty-Graveson and Felix Grainger are the credited writers, but the overall sense is that of a devised collaboration. And like the co-op it depicts the three actors are certainly dedicated and committed to each other. It could certainly benefit from an outside eye, however, to weed out some of the more obscure references if it wants to reach a wider audience. Yet it is an exciting prospect and this show has the potential to stand out from the crowd. Bizarrely they seem to be trying just a little too hard. The company biog references the Russian practitioner Vakhtangov as an inspiration (I had to google him too!) who specialised in heightened expression and what is known as ‘the dramatic grotesque’. I’d like to think that this allusion is an extension of their tongue-in-cheek approach to the production, rather than the fact that some of the acting is overdone.

“The Co-Op” is mad, and it’s wild, but it is a beast that does need reigning in. There is much more under the surface, but it is obscured by the untamed humour and overstated exposition of this show.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

The Co-op

White Bear Theatre until 25th January

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

The Old Room | ★★ | April 2018

The Unnatural Tragedy | ★★★★★ | July 2018

Schrodinger’s Dog | ★★★★ | November 2018

Franz Kafka – Apparatus | ★★★ | January 2019

The Project | ★★★ | March 2019

Good Gracious, Good Friday | ★★★★ | October 2019

Click here to see our most recent reviews

★★

“A more concentrated focus would engage us more and pinpoint that spark of emotion needed to bring Mary Ann’s story to life”

There is always something exciting about discovering historical figures who have been hitherto consigned to the bargain basement of biographies. Mary Ann Canning (later Mary Ann Hunn) is one such individual. She was the mother of George Canning who was Prime Minister in 1827 before a severe stroke curtailed his successful career, and ultimately his life. Although Mary went on to have eleven other children, George held a special place in her heart despite being separated from her from the age of six. George kept his mother firmly out of sight. He supported her financially but declared her unfit to meet his own wife and children. In 1803 Mary Ann wrote an impassioned, sixty-thousand word letter to George, seeking reconciliation and attempting to explain the choices she had made in her life.

This letter is the basis for “The Long Letter”, a new play written by Richard Clare, Chris Crowe, Daphne Jayasinghe, Abigail Kessel and Helen Moore, who also all perform in this short one act piece that sheds light on Mary’s remarkable story. The company take on many roles between them and, despite some blind casting, the story telling is succinctly clear and informative. But unfortunately, that is its major flaw. Too much of the precious stage time is spent reeling off the narrative instead of showing us the core of the characters. The result is a rather cold and stilted history lesson. The dialogue, which battles to get a word in edgeways with the documentary style delivery, aims purely for the head and not the heart.

Which is a shame. The five ensemble cast work well together and seamlessly switch through the many, many characters they portray but under Sophie Robson’s direction they are hindered by an overuse of prop and scene changes which distracts and wastes time – particularly when a lifetime is being shoehorned into sixty minutes of theatre. We barely have time to care about Mary Ann’s plight. Left penniless by the death of her husband, she struggles to support her son, George, and turns to the stage – one of the only routes open to her. Frowned upon at the time, she lost respectability and her son was taken away from her.

We long to learn more, but the focus moves on to the next phase of her life. Based on Julian Crowe’s biography; “George Canning Is My Son”, it is evidently a faithful homage to a significant woman, and it has to be praised for elevating Mary Ann’s profile. She was a force of nature; a formidable personality who lived on her own terms and did much to further the cause of women. But this re-enactment does little to shed light on the passion, the strength and the intelligence of a woman battling with society, with herself and with life.

Paradoxically, the show’s qualities are its downfalls. It is epic and a fascinating story and one that deserves to be told. But the panoramic perspective dilutes its own ingredients. A more concentrated focus would engage us more and pinpoint that spark of emotion needed to bring Mary Ann’s story to life.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Karl Baker

White Bear Theatre

Reviewed – 15th January 2020

★★★

“the trio take the art of self-deprecation to a brand-new level that is a joy to watch”

“The Co-Op” is mad, and it’s wild, but it is a beast that does need reigning in. There is much more under the surface, but it is obscured by the untamed humour and overstated exposition of this show.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

The Co-op

White Bear Theatre until 25th January

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

White Bear Theatre

Reviewed – 15th January 2020

★★

“A more concentrated focus would engage us more and pinpoint that spark of emotion needed to bring Mary Ann’s story to life”

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Karl Baker

The Long Letter

White Bear Theatre until 18th January

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: