24:7 Madness Sweet Madness 25/7/15

Madness Sweet Madness by Georgina Tremayne was a play concerning a mysterious night in the lives of Grace (Sophie Harrison) a widow struggling with the loss of her husband, and her brother in law Vesuvius (Matt Aistrup), exhausted by her bizarre and compulsive behaviour. Into this mix comes two mysterious 'detectives' (Sarah MacGillivray and Matt Holt) who may be a product of the imagination of one or both of the central characters.

I'm afraid this play did not engage me at all. The plot I suspect was meant to be quirky and intriguing, but personally I found it dull, verging on the self indulgent, and the 45 minute running time dragged. 

There were some engaging performances, but coupled with a weak narrative, an obsession with omelettes, and a set device of a glowing shed that made no sense, instead of dragging me in and making me think, which was possibly the idea, it just left me feeling frustrated and somewhat annoyed that this was the play I was ending my 24:7 Big Weekend on.

Venue was lovely though, the Cosmo Concert Hall at the Martin Harris Centre is beautiful (determined to end on a high!!!!!) 

24:7 Gary: A Love Story 25/7/15

This interesting and absorbing two hander, written by James Harker, is a play exploring the complex relationship between two brothers, Andrew (Reuben Johnson), and Gary (Craig Morris) 

As Andrew works his way through evidence boxes surrounding him on stage, he recalls  snapshots of the brother's lives together. This play is in turns complex, coarse, touching and shocking as the flashbacks built up into a record of two lives that could have had a different ending had a better support system been in place. Both of the actors do an excellent job portraying their roles, the complexities of their characters are  evident. Whilst Gary is the 'bad boy' who gets into trouble constantly and Andrew is the 'gifted student' both have more depth than that.

Gary, possibly with some mental health problems, longs for acceptance from his brother and searches for friendship and companionship, albeit often misguidedly. Andrew cares about his brother but cannot acknowledge it and loses sympathy for his extreme behaviours. Ultimately Gary is very lonely and scared, putting trust in the wrong places, but you do feel that with better support structures once he entered the criminal justice system, the outcome could have been very different.

Whilst Andrew is intolerant of his brothers actions, his shocking death affects him deeply and the heart of the narrative is him trying to make sense of the series of events that led to it and his conflicted feelings towards his brother.

Ultimately, this is a tale about love, as its title suggests. Well written, strongly performed and deeply affecting, this was one of the highlights of the festival for me. 

24:7 We Are The Multitude 25/7/15

What happens when two office workers, polar opposites who tolerate each other as part of daily office life, are thrown together in a situation that they might not get out of? Might they discover they have more in common than they thought? This funny and touching play by Laura Harper explores how events unfold.

Simon (Andy Blake) is the radical intellectual who keeps himself aloof from the rabble and appears to see his life in the University's finance department as somewhat beneath him, bubbly and over the top Lisa (Amy Drake) is obsessed with cats, celebrity gossip and recording every perceived slight in her 'bullying diary'. Whilst both are initially drawn as extremes of the kind of characters you might meet in office life, as they become trapped in their workplace, which the 'multitude' are threatening to blow up as a protest, their characters and backgrounds are revealed to have much more depth, as we discover both are lonely, isolated and hiding secrets, and, through the exchanging of a few home truths, a connection  is formed.

I really enjoyed this play. The humour is well played by the two leads, Drake in particular has some hilarious non verbal moments as she reacts to events, but both actors deliver excellent comedy performances and spark off each other well. The more touching elements are also nicely judged and there is some thoughtful detail, and the pace of the piece works well, the one hour running time flies by. The plot device of the multitude is maybe a little unrealistic, but it serves it's purpose in throwing these two seemingly disparate characters together and forcing them to communicate openly with each other.

Great comedy blended with touching detail, well delivered by a strong cast, I'm really glad I got a chance to see it.

24:7 The Plant 25/7/15

Two men are imprisoned in a mysterious small cell. To speed the passage of time one, Leon (Alex Phelps) starts to weave a narrative, with frequent interjections from the other Keith (Jonny Cordingley). As the tale moves on it becomes increasingly complex and darkly comic, and the lines between narrative and reality of their situation become blurred as we find out more about the brooding Plant that looms over the town that no one can escape from. Oh, and there is a brave duck called Rodney! 

I really enjoyed this clever piece of theatre. The writing, by James Kerr, was engaging, in turns funny and slightly creepy, and the two talented actors did an incredible job in bringing the story to life. I wasn't entirely surprised when I saw the name of Michael White in the playbill as movement associate, as the seamlessly smooth physicality of the performance had definite echoes of pieces that I have seen from Square Peg Theatre. Although the reality of the two inmates stories was never fully resolved, I liked that as it left me imagining more. 

All in all I felt this was an accomplished and clever piece of theatre, tightly directed and excellently portrayed. Definite highlight and deserves to be seen more. 

24:7 Theatre Festival - Big Weekend

24:7 has been one of the highlights of my theatre going year for a while now. A festival of new theatre writing, in the form of one hour plays, rehearsed readings and various other events, it has often provided unexpected thrills and has introduced a lot of new talent to the artistic world. Sadly this year it lost its Arts Council funding, something I find quite hard to understand when a ridiculous amount of public funding has been allocated for another large arts venue that Manchester doesn't really need at this time. I'm not sure whether this is connected with why 24:7 has decided to retire it's festival after this year, or whether they feel it has run its course as we do have an embarrassment of theatrical riches in the North. However 24:7 will live on in other guises, but the thrill of a week of theatrical adventures in the heart of the city courtesy of the festival will be sadly missed by many, myself included.

Luckily, the festival decided to bow out with a bang, putting on a Big Festival Weekend with four new plays, rehearsed readings, a children's adventure, a promenade production of monologues inspired by Manchester Scientists and workshops for writers and actors. It was all based around the Martin Harris Centre, a sparsely signposted but excellent venue on the University campus. I was limited for time this year so could only spend one day down there, but, clutching my lovely 24:7 Goodie Bag (as I had taken part in a crowd funding to support the festival earlier in the year) I managed to see all four of the main shows.

So it only remains to say - 24:7 Theatre Festival thank you. You have delighted and surprised me over the years, I've seen so many new plays, some of which still stay with me to this day,(and only one that I detested - that's not a bad hit rate), I've discovered new venues, made new friends, cried and laughed. You will be very much missed.

The Ones That Got Away - Part Two

July was a mega busy month for me because of my involvement with the Manchester International Festival - which might explain why none of these got written up!.....

JULY

The Old Woman, Palace Theatre, Manchester as part of the Manchester International Festival - starring Willem Dafoe and Mikhail Baryshnikov. I was actually volunteer team leader for this show as part of my involvement with the festival, an assignment I suspect I was given because I admitted to the volunteer programme coordinator that I had a major crush on Baryshnikov when I was younger. Sadly I never got to meet him, or even see him 'off duty' at any of the MIF bashes that I did door duty at, but I did get to experience this completely crackers but strangely brilliant show from the 4th row. I'll admit, it took me a while to appreciate it, and as a volunteer we did receive some divided opinion about it from the audience. Visually it was completely stunning, performance wise it was skilful but completely insane, like being sucked into someone's weird nightmare. However, I was still thinking about it days later, and appreciating it a lot more in retrospect. The other striking thing was the diversity of the audience it attracted - I met the most interesting mix of people whilst working front of house promoting the festival on this show.

Macbeth, St Peters Church, Ancoats as part of Manchester International Festival - I can't believe I never blogged this, and actually I still intend to as I think this is one of the, if not the, best and most memorable theatrical performances I have ever witnessed. At one stage I was literally face to face with Kenneth Branagh. The whole thing from start to finish was a breathtaking and deeply memorable experience that I feel privileged to have witnessed. Blog will follow! 

Zigzag Zigzag at the Town Hall in Manchester, presented as part of the Manchester International Festival and also taken into schools during the week. A lively and touching tale of the kind of friendships that you think will go on for ever when you are young. Brilliantly energetic performances from the two actors (Alex Phillips and Joe Azzopardi) .I was volunteering front of house on this and I'm so glad I managed to sneak in to see it!

 

Daylight Robbery as part of 24:7 Theatre Festival, Manchester. I only managed to get to three 24:7 plays last year, two were excellent (Away from Home, Blunted).  I couldn't however bring myself to blog about the third choice at the time as I couldn't think of many nice things to say. But with the passing of time I have thought of a couple - 1. The two female actors were excellent, but wasted in this production 2. It was only 45 minutes long, never have I been so glad to leave a performance space!

24:7 Blunted, 26/7/13

Alice Brockway is becoming something of a 24:7 stalwart. I first saw her in the astounding 'Future Shock' in 2011' then she appeared in the touching 'The Interpreter, Home' in the 2012 festival. This year she writes and stars in 'Blunted' an affecting piece concerning the pain, confusion and anger that surround the aftermath of violent crime.
 
The play opens on Tess (Alice Brockway) alone, emotional, clearly suffering, although initially it is not clear exactly what has taken place. As the play develops we discover that her partner has been killed in a senseless attack, by the very people that Tess was trying to reach out to in her role as a music teacher in a deprived area. Tess' best friend Evie (a spirited performance from Lowri Vivian) and her partner Jay (John Mulleady) are trying to support Tess in their own way. In an attempt to make sense of the situation Tess returns to the scene of the attack and meets Glen, a former colleague of her partner who witnessed the attack and tried to help. She reaches out to Glen, who is dealing with his own sense of guilt that he couldn't stop the attack, and they support each other, to the concern of the protective Evie.
 
The play is at its best when portraying the pain, loss, confusion and anger that come in the wake of this kind of crime, and the desperation of those close to the victim to find a way to help them through the pain but not knowing the right thing to do. It is extremely well played, the creators have worked closely with Victim Support in the development of this play and it shows. There is no 'right' way of dealing with grief and anger, everyone finds their own route through, and it's just as painful for those witnessing the suffering, as those at the heart of it.
 
Brockway gives a brave and accomplished performance as Tess, her pain, confusion and raw emotion is very much on show, but portrayed in a very 'real' way that had me in tears on more than one occasion. Vivian and Mulleady show the conflicting sides of close friends well, the brave supportive side that is on display to Tess, the private turmoil and despair of seeing someone you love suffer and not knowing how to make it better, and the fierce way you will try and protect your loved ones if you think someone could hurt them. And the character of Glen is a good addition, well played, the 'outsider' who may be able to help but is cautious of making things worse.
 
The play isn't perfect. I think you need longer than an hour to 'get' the complexities of Vivian's character and understand why her relationships with both Tess and Jay are so strong, as to an outsider she can grate, although it’s a spirited and energetic performance. And for me the 'graffiti' scene in the flat could have been cut with no loss to the central core of the tale. Having said that, for a one hour play on its first outing this did an amazing job at showing the complexities of grief, particularly in the aftermath of violence, with excellent and brave performances, especially from Brockway (there is one scene where you literally want to run onto the stage and hug her!) and it would be wonderful if it could be developed further.
 
Emotionally strong and thought provoking. A great addition to the 24:7 legacy

24:7 Away From Home, Manchester, 24/7/13

It’s been hard to fit in much 24:7 stuff this year as the first weekend clashed with my Manchester International Festival volunteering responsibilities, but I’m so glad I managed to find time for this absolute gem of a show.

In the true spirit of football this Working Progress production is a team effort, written by Rob Ward and Martin Jameson, with Ward taking on the sole character of Kyle, and Jameson directing, they have together created an incredibly accomplished piece of theatre. 

Kyle is a gay man and a passionate football supporter, he also makes a living as an escort and through this starts a relationship with a professional footballer.  Ward is the only performer in this play, as he recounts events of the last few years, and it’s a performance and a half. So much energy, commitment, perfect timing and finely observed characterisations you feel like there is a stage full of characters not one. It’s exhausting to watch let alone perform! There is a great deal of humour in the play, but also some incredibly touching and upsetting moments too as you see the journey develop.

What I really liked about the way that the relationships are written in this play as it

doesn’t go down the standard route of Kyle having hidden his sexuality from his family and friends, although he has been a little more economical with the truth about his career choices. His friends know he is gay, and he is still one of the lads, down the football on a Saturday. His parents are less comfortable with the position, but still grudgingly accepting of it. It feels very real. This is contrasted with the issue of homophobia in professional football and how as the relationship between Kyle and the footballer develops it has to be hidden and denied with heartbreaking consequences.

The creators of this piece have achieved something really special with this play, it really touched me and affected me for long after the performance had finished. There is just so much packed into the one hour running time. I laughed, and I’m not ashamed to say I wiped away a tear as well. And Rob Ward's performance is astounding.

Seriously, with All The Bens last year, and this for 2013, if 24:7 don’t start giving out free hugs at the end of performances soon there will be trouble!