Skip to main content

Review of UoN Fringe: Lawmen by Flux Theatre at The Platform, Northampton

Way back in April 2014, No Way Out was the first production that I saw from local amateur group Masque Theatre, it was a version of Jean-Paul Sartre's Huis Clos (No Exit), and four years later, the University of Northampton group Flux Theatre provide another version, presented in a far more claustrophobic style and modernised considerably.

Seated in a circle, barely more than five metres in diameter, the three actors. Amber Jade Harrison, James Grayson and Ross Bayliss perform an adaptation of Huis Clos, titled Lawmen. This becomes perhaps one of the closest proximity productions that I have ever seen, and likely to, so much so, that often the actors are even seated in adjacent seats. to the audience.

James Grayson
We, the audience, are not there, of course, it may be close contact, but these three characters are in their own world. These three have been thrown into this Sartre inspired world of lies, and deception. Who are the truthful ones, who is the controlling menace? We do not know of course until the end, so, as an audience, we go through there fears as well.

As well as being exemplarily staged, this is also stunningly performed. With such proximity, there is no escaping close scrutiny of the audience, and as such, it is key for such solid performances, here we can see the facial mannerisms in total detail, and do we get them.

Ross Bayliss
There are no weak links here, we have Grayson's powerful and violent character, perhaps being played by the other into aggression, perhaps actually the guilty one? He has been an amazing presence on stage in all previous shows, and here Grayson he is no different. Stunning work.

Bayliss plays the more innocent feeling character, no less disturbed by the world he finds himself in. He provides the perfect balance against Grayson's character, the sort of everyman character that we as an audience can perhaps latch onto more?
Amber Jade Harrison

Finally, we have Amber Jade Harrison, throwing even more confusion into the mix. Harrison is the most controlled and measured performance on display here, quiet and contemplative, amazingly so at times. The gradual exposure of what she has done is expertly eeked out, and the impact that the revelation makes is all the more powerful due to this.

I really loved Lawmen, it is intense in your face theatre that has three brilliant performances from the cast. Its power is brought home in the final sequence of a most spectacular light show and theatre and leaves its audience understandably reeling as a result. Brutal and really quite brilliant.

Performance reviewed: Friday 23rd March 2018 at The Platform, Northampton.

The UoN Fringe ran between Friday 23rd and Monday 26th March 2018.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Of Mice and Men at The Playhouse Theatre Northampton

John Steinbeck’s classic novella Of Mice and Men has been a staple of many young people's education, and it is relatively common in curricula; as such, it is a popular choice for theatre groups, both professional and amateur, to bring to the stage. Therefore, this week, The Playhouse Theatre Northampton has brought its own version to the stage at Christ Church Hall as its latest offering. So, after close to ninety years since the first publication, is this still worth a trip to the theatre? For those unfamiliar with the story, published in 1937, Steinbeck’s tale, here adapted for the stage by the author, chronicles a moment in the lives of George Milton and Lennie Small, an unlikely pair of migrant workers, as they move from ranch to ranch. Constantly moving due to the mentally unstable Lennies' constant leaning towards doing something bad, they find themselves at a new farm where they hope to make the coin to pursue the dream of their own piece of land. However, as always for...
Read more

Review of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at Milton Keynes Theatre

Music artist Tina Turner was a staple of the music network for a remarkable time, active as an artist for eight decades; her work is, or at the very least should be, familiar to every generation. Therefore, it was little surprise that in 2018, a stage musical of her work and life arrived upon the stage. You could say that for such an artist, it actually took longer than it should have to appear. Now, as part of its first UK & Ireland tour, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical , it arrives at Milton Keynes Theatre for a two-week run. So, the question is, is it worthy of the legendary artist? For those unfamiliar with any part of Tina Turner's life, the content of this stage musical telling her life story might be a surprise to an audience that grew up just listening to her music. It is an early commendation of the show that the show does not shy away from the themes of domestic abuse, racism and parental abandonment that Turner suffered through her life. With all that rich and startlin...
Read more

Review of Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The Rambert Dance Company is the oldest such company in Britain having first performed in 1926. However, despite this, this was my first encounter with the group in my ten years of theatre-going. Coupled with this, it was also my first encounter with Peaky Blinders , having never seen the show, and only knowing a few vague things about it. My companion for the evening however was very familiar with the show, allowing some background behind the show. It turns out though,  Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby needs a little more than a good bit of knowledge of the show, as despite this production having incredible style, there struggles to be a cohesive structure to the show and the storytelling. Much more than other dance shows as well. The first act does a whistle-stop tour of the first five seasons and while it is a feast on the eye, and on the ear, it gets extremely confusing at times. The second act is freestyle and drifts away from the stories tol...
Read more