Review of UoN Fringe 2019: 42 Church Lane by Battered Lemon Theatre Company at The Platform Club, Northampton

42 Church Lane from Battered Lemon Theatre Company was the sharpest written story of the week at the Fringe, a brightly clever tale of three groups occupants of the titular address. It's also lovingly performed, and despite the longest show of the week, never boring or outstaying it's welcome.

We meet our first occupants of the address in 1941, as the resident family welcome home Arthur from the war, returning due to injury. Flash forward to 2016, and Megan and Jamie have moved into their first house together. Finally, 2027 sees its occupant Doctor Mia opening a clinic to administer the MMR vaccine in the face of the newly privatised NHS.

Each of these three worlds is, in theory, unconnected, but as storylines develope through a strong and totally coherent scene-switching way, it becomes clear that the underlying theme is very much that of trust, and in the end, the betrayal of it.

Each of the performers has multiple characters and they often switch briskly, but there is a structure of simplistic costumes that keep it clear where we are. It is all rather brilliantly done.

There is a great strength in all the performances, De-Anna Matthews is highly effective at the broken Ruth, her child, then her job gone, and her attack upon Frank for this is a truly powerful moment, totally convincingly played. As Frank, Samuel Jordan is hugely effective, giving a depth to the confusion of the character broken by war, but perhaps more than a little guilt-ridden as well. Jordan though for me is even better as Alex, the quiet contemplative journalist, sharing some lovely scenes with Amy Catherine as Dr Mia. Her story is intriguing, and with news over the weekend, perhaps even more prophetic. It's tough, challenging, and sadly a very believable future. My only thought and possible criticism really is whether a small clinic could perhaps have such a global impact, she would I feel have to truly impossibly busy schedule. However, maybe the point here is more that she believes she has made the impact, but in actual fact, the more scary scenario is that this tale of global disaster could in fact just happen without a Doctor Mia instigator.

The final pairing of Erin Thorpe and Shannon Couchman, while involved strongly in the 1941 world, are so much more brilliant in our tale of Megan and Jamie. This love going wrong tale is stunning, and both tell it is with power, particularly from Couchman, who just possibly gives the best performance of the week as the manipulative, but then tragic Jamie. Couchman has a very visual face which shows tremendous emotion, and as we head to the brilliantly staged self-harm scene, you can't help but feel every cut. Superb work.

42 Church Lane also has a fabulous set, the central piece of sofa is ably supported by several other items which also work across the ages. A vast rug also is used to brilliant effect in a superb scene broken across the ages as words across the decades merge and a knock, knock, knocking at the door has repercussions for both.

42 Church Lane is superb, one of the best of the week without doubt, much because they have just simply created a clever story, a piece that is brilliantly written and constructed. This is very much how to make a Fringe show, it should live on beyond this festival.

Performance viewed: Friday 3rd May 2019

The Fringe Festival 2019 runs until Sunday 5th May 2019 at The Platform Club Northampton, and one show at Hazelrigg House.

Details here: Fringe Festival 2019

Review of Of Mice And Men at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Other than, randomly, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The War of the Worlds , John Steinbeck's classic Of Mice and Men is perhaps one of the most familiar of stories to me. I have seen it several times before, and while at school, we studied it, and dissected it like the work of Mr Shakespeare, but with Steinbeck, I got out the other side still liking it. This brand new version from Selladoor Productions, which opened in Canterbury last week, brings a by-the-book presentation of the trials of George and his slow, but incredibly strong friend, Lennie, to the stage. Perhaps, this is its first issue blocking a huge success from this production, in that it rarely does anything brave or different. It's clearly been expertly cast visually, with the hulking form of Matthew Wynn as Lennie, and the diminutive (in comparison) Richard Keightley and Kamran Darabi-Ford as George and Curley respectively. Darabi-Ford especially perfect in his tremendously awkward scenes wit...

Review of Flash Festival 2016: Red Inquisition by Memoir Theatre at Castle Hill URC

Red Inquisition from Memoir Theatre evolves from a theatre groups creation of a play based on the 1947 Hollywood blacklist and McCarthyism So that I can get it out the way early on and take this review in a more upbeat direction that Red Inquisition deserves, I am going to get a real bugbear done first. There was a huge negative for me from this production and one that I ended up getting negative vibes from. For me there was far too much video and audio footage in this production. Much of it was while excellently researched, surplus to requirements. The were a couple of occasions especially where we saw material repeated on screen that had already been performed. The show did not need this and for me theatre is not about watching a screen in any case, its about seeing performances. This however does need to be taken as a positive as what I am simply saying is that I wanted more acting from the trio of Daniel Hadjivarnava, Ciara Goldsberry and Jaryd Headley as they work excellently ...

Review of Northern Ballet - The Great Gatsby at Milton Keynes Theatre

This production of The Great Gatsby performed by Northern Ballet was my fifth encounter at the theatre of a full ballet production and as before, I happily share my review of the show with nearly zero knowledge of-the-art form and more of a casual theatre-goer. You could say that this is a poor direction to come in on a review, but I would say that casual audience are the ones to review this for. Over the years, Northern Ballet has set quite a high benchmark for ballet productions, and any audience member who is worth their salt as a ballet fan would no doubt have tickets for this new touring version of the 2013 version of The Great Gatsby , lovingly created by David Nixon OBE. So much is Nixon part of the very fabric of this show, that he not only provides the choreography and direction but also the initial scenario and costume design (assisted by Julie Anderson). So, discounting those ballet fans already sitting in the audience, what does this offer for the more casual theatre-goer ...

A Small Mind At The Theatre

Search This Blog