Skip to main content

Review of Flash Festival 2019: Nine More Lives by Ellipsis Ensemble at Castle Hill URC

As is so often the case, Flash Festival performances have a strong emotional theme running through them, they are so very rarely lightweight, and Nine More Lives from Ellipsis Ensemble is no different. Here as this plays central point is organ donation, and it's spin here, spin used with political context as well, is an idea by high flying politician Emily of making people only eligible for organs if they themselves are on the organ donation list, known as Give to Get, and the play title coming from the nine lives that each person can potentially save.

Emily, played by Izzy Weaver, is a highly driven politician, and Weaver's performance carefully calculates what her two personas represent. We have the clear, business-like character standing at the podium taking increasingly difficult questions, and then we have the more relaxed Emily, having her diary and biscuit quota handled by her ever-reliable PA Molly (Beth Hâf Jones). The two faces of a politician are extremely well created by Weaver here.

Emily's world is about to be turned on its head though, and in a very relevant way as her brother, taken seriously ill, is all of a sudden in need of a donor himself. Her brother Darren is played with a deft style by Moses Gale, it is low key, and because of this all the more realistic as his character faces a staggeringly difficult decision, it is perfectly pitched. Gale also has a collection of other characters in this, all distinctly different, without question my favourite being as Emily's father, is a fabulous little scene, and benefits from a tiny moment of simple physical theatre.

Beth Hâf Jones's PA is a reassuring presence, all organised and proficient at keeping things in order, and she also plays the doctor charged with giving bad news and advising on solutions with crisp integrity.

The play is well created visually, crisp clever scene changes, some simple, but excellent video, and a very well used table. The whole thing is smooth and professionally created as a piece of theatre.

Nine More Lives is a controlled emotional rollercoaster, it brings you through the wringer and spits you out at the end with a bit of hope. If you are already a donor as you watch this, you feel happy to be prepared to help, if you are not, you just might take home one of Molly's flyers and use it. Who knew that a little bit of theatre might save lives.

Performance viewed: Tuesday 2nd April 2019

The Flash Festival 2019 runs until Sunday 7th April 2019 at venues across the town.
Details here: Flash Festival 2019
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Review of 2:22 A Ghost Story at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

2:22 A Ghost Story continues an endless rise and run of success on the stage. This play by Danny Robins was first staged as recently as August 2021 at the Noel Coward Theatre and since then the show continued to run in London for two years, moving to four further London theatres, before eventually closing in the city to embark on this tour, which began in September last year. During these runs, the cast has constantly been updated with often populist actors, and some, which are not even associated with acting. As this reaches Royal & Derngate, now even the touring cast has been swept clean and four further performers take on the incredible success of a show. This is the second time I have seen 2:22 A Ghost Story , and it is safe to say that on that first viewing, with the previous tour cast, I was not as blown away by the play as the success seemed to warrant. The aforementioned populist casting seemed to have driven a so-so ghostly tale into success beyond its quality, and with th...
Read more

Review of The All New Adventures of Peter Pan at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

For theatres across the land, it's that time of year again. The time when the theatres fill with screaming children and a ridiculous amount of sugar intake and trips to the toilet. Yes, it is panto time, and before you say it, oh yes it is. This year, for the Royal & Derngate, it is time for a trip to Neverland (or Forever Land, that is, but more on that later) and a magical adventure with Peter Pan and the dastardly Captain Hook. Once again, following hugely successful previous runs, Evolution Productions brings this tale to the stage in 2025. And it has to be said, once again, they strike panto gold with The All New Adventures of Peter Pan , with a constantly lively, brilliantly colourful and awkwardly funny production that, as always with Evolution, is totally family friendly. Over the years here, Evolution and writer Paul Hendy have created the essence of pantomime (which just so happens to link to the tale within this story). Keeping all the traditions intact, a ghostly be...
Read more

Review of The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband at The Playhouse Theatre, Northampton

During the interval of The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband , last weeks production at The Playhouse Theatre Northampton, I got involved in a conversation between a couple sitting next to me. The lady was very much of the opinion that the play was a comedy, while the gentleman, had formed one that it was a tragedy. They were joking of course in the conversation, but it did highlight the differences that Debbie Isitt's dark comedy might have between the sexes. And also now perhaps the passing of time. When this was written in the nineties, Isitt's play was a forthright feminist play, heralding the championing over of the ladies over the man. One the ex-wife plotting to cook him, the other, the new lover, potentially already very tired of him after just three years. The husband, Kenneth (Jem Clack) elopes initially in pursuit of sex with Laura (Diane Wyman), after his nineteen years of marriage with Hilary (Corinna Leeder) has become tired and passionless. Then later, he elopes ...
Read more