A Small Mind At The Theatre

The 2014 Flash Festival had been a wonder of many things including the diversity of ideas in the plays, the standard of the young actors and also the very first discovery of the Looking Glass Theatre. It was therefore a certainty that I would be back for more come 2015 and this time I would see all of the shows, somehow, with a bit of planning. This year there were a total of sixteen shows featuring thirty-nine student stars. There was also an increased diversity of ideas for the shows with children's shows, storytelling tales and six solo shows. We still had the large groups including two busy ones with five members. There was indeed huge variety. The event itself organised by Evoke Events was a huge success, although I think it was a heavy learning curve by those involved, everything generally went smoothly. The Looking Glass was always the hub of events complete with balloons, however the other shows at the three locations did feel a little cut-off. The NN Contempory the lea...

Ryan Manning's solo performance Flash innocently titled The Presenter is no light hearted show featuring a Titchmarsh/Schofield-esque host and any granny unexpectedly turning up would soon be spitting her false teeth out as the play turns the air bluer than her hair. What it is however is a dazzlingly believable play about one man, Kieran, and his battle with an insane alter ego, Aaron. This whole performance was made the more amazing and encompassing by the fact that it is presented in the area off the main room at the Looking Glass. A single row of chairs around the four sides makes it a totally intimate experience where every member of the audience is in that single shattered room strewn with clothes, drink bottles and when we take our seats the whacked out body of The Presenter. We are slowly and completely brought into this world through the strains of the complete version of Marilyn Manson's Tainted Love. Its a bold move to play the entire tune with nothing happening,...

A man in twenties Russia wants to kill himself. Let's all laugh hysterically, it seems right? Well it does during Moira Buffini adaption of Nikolai Erdman's satirical black comedy, The Suicide. Our protagonist Semyon Semyonovich (a masterful performance by Matt Larsson) has a double barrelled sausage and wants to have an end to it all. Indeed why wouldn't he want to end it? His failure at playing the Tuba because he doesn't have a piano, his most hideous (but, oh so funny) mother-in-law Serafima (a comic mastery performance from Sophie Poyntz Lloyd) always there giving him aggro. Then his wife Masha (a gentle, and very lovely performance from Sarah Kirk) leaves him. He really might as well top himself. If only there was a cause he could die for. Step forward neighbour Alexander (an effortless performance by Dale Endacott) and his (for a price) revolving door of potential causes for Semyon to die for. So we have through the doors in order Aristarkh (John Shelley provid...