Skip to main content

Review of No Way Out by Jean-Paul Sartre performed by The Masque Theatre at The Holy Sepulchre, Northampton

I found myself back at the Holy Sepulchre Church for the second time in a week for a performance of No Way Out performed by amateur dramatic company The Masque Theatre.

This was to be my first proper amateur dramatic viewing for as long as I could remember (ever maybe, other than school shows), so therefore it was an area much neglected by me. As the first arrival and with unreserved seating, I made my way to the front row after being beckoned in by a gentlemen, who would later become known to us as "The Waiter" in the main performance. This was a nice presentation touch which made me happy from the very beginning.

Now I am unfamiliar with Jean-Paul Sartre pretty much, but I was familiar with the famous quote "Hell is other people", so it was going to be interesting to see the origin of the piece.

The set was a simple three chairs (of varying types), a fireplace, a door and a bronze statue on a pedestal which worked well. There was also the interesting addition of three projection screens showing three views (the views of the three characters). One of these had the scary sight of myself being projected on it, and another sadly died towards the end of the performance. However this was a clever idea, just marred by technical faults, which was a shame.

The three main performers, Gavin Harrison (Garcin), Gemma Knight (Ines) and Lisa Shepherd (Estelle) were introduced to us one by one by the aforementioned Waiter, played by Gabriel Abrahams. All were excellent in their very different roles, hiding the secret of why they were in this place and sparring off one another well against each of their "torturers".

The play itself I have to say was fascinating, albeit pretty much grim with little humour. Although with the subject this is fine and I really did enjoy it.

Overall a superbly presented and performed show which I was happily surprised at the quality of. I have to say though that it was such a shame that the crowd was so thin for what an just eight pounds was a quality and friendly ninety minutes.

No Way Out is on until Saturday 5th at The Holy Sepulchre, Northampton. Tickets: £8.00
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Blue/Orange at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

The challenging and socially relevant Blue/Orange by Joe Penhall was published in 2000 and back then, this caustic exploration of mental health, and more specifically black mental health issues, was a tremendously relevant play. When it debuted on stage in London, the cast of just three was played by Bill Nighy, Andrew Lincoln and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Director James Dacre doesn't have those names to play with so much in his cast, however here, he has worked with the writer himself to rework the play for a more modern audience. Does it still shock, and is the relevance still there today? Sadly, perhaps, the answer is yes, as doctors Bruce Flaherty and Robert Smith come to verbal blows over the health of patient Christopher, at times, you feel 21 years shed little light on how mental health is approached. Many references in the script, still sit unquestionably in the year 2000, however, with this reworking, one thing has changed dramatically. In the original version of the play, the two
Read more

Review of Sister Act by the Northampton Musical Theatre Company at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

South Pacific at Royal & Derngate last year set a remarkable benchmark for an "amateur" production, with a large talented cast, superb vocals, sets and a polish up there with a professional production. Sister Act, this years production from the Northampton Musical Theatre Company was more of the same, but perhaps taken up a notch or two. Sister Act is a musical based on the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg comedy and was first performed in 2009. Written by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner, it is a likable and fun musical which genuinely came as a surprise to me. The opening scene at Curtis's Bar and Nightclub is to be honest not the best though and genuinely didn't fill me with much hope. It feels as if it gives nothing to the cast, although it creates the premise of the story coupled with the incident outside the bar. Likewise, I didn't take much to the Police Station scene either, so it didn't bode well. When we reach the Queen Of Angels Cathedral though, this show
Read more

Review of Shrek (NMTC) at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Three and a half years ago, in a land far far away, in a world very different to the one we are now in, I saw the touring professional production of Shrek The Musical , it was a mixed bag of quality, tilted extremely heavily in favour of one particular character (not the one you might expect) and not firing on all cylinders much of the time. One and a half years after my last visit to the Derngate theatre, I return to see the homegrown Northampton Musical Theatre Company's own take on the very same show. Would they be able to breathe more life into the show than the professionals did in that distant land? It is a bit of a yes and no really. Pretty much all of this is done to the best possible standard, and at times, with being an amateur show you could easily forget, they all have normal day jobs. The show oozes professional quality at times. The set looks magnificent, the costumes (from Molly Limpet's Theatrical Emporium) are superb, and as ever with NMTC, the backstage team c
Read more