Made In Britain at Old Red Lion Theatre

admin — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 20:40:52 +0000

It’s not just angry young men any more. They’re all angry – men, women, boys, girls. And with good reason, as Made In Britain, showing at London’s Old Red Lion Theatre, makes apparent. Against a background of sketchy CCTV footage bristling with flashes of urban society Sarah Bryan and James Rallinson play Danny and Nina, two young people disillusioned with the desperate situation in which they find themselves, angry and frustrated at a society which promises so much but fails to deliver on it.
Through alternating monologues we hear their tales, tales of school bullies, fathers they adore and despise, abandonment, and unemployment. Circumstances have not been kind, but their youthful vigour remains through their desire to connect and alter their situation. Directed by Jonathan O’Boyle from the script written by Ella Carmen Greenhill, it is unambiguous and explicit, a message of cynicism and disenchantment at a world where capitalism is king and the struggles of the normal person are forgotten being made very clear. This space in which they speak is the only forum for these voices which have been denied.
Broken relationships, futile jobs, suicide, and the poverty trap are all explored tenderly and robustly, before the two meet at a G8 summit where their problems are reflected and magnified on a global scale. Politics and personal grief are very closely intertwined in this play, where culpability lies in a hazy space somewhere between the individual and the situations in which they find themselves. They don’t believe in politics as an agent for social change, and far from suffering from malaise, they are fuming – but what do they do about it?
Things are not fair – and the play asks how we deal with that, whether acceptance or revenge are the routes to take, or something in between. It doesn’t end prettily, and Danny dying for his beliefs is a profound twist on the stereotypes we have cast on this action, and has us questioning whether all action is useful.
Made In Britain is one of a new season of plays which new artistic director Stewart Pringle has commissioned for the thirty year old pub theatre in Angel. He recently told What’s On Stage that he wants the output to be ‘unpredictable, loud, and constantly surprising.’ On those measures, Made In Britain is a success.

Mojo, White Bear Theatre

admin — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 15:20:45 +0000

Jez Butterworth’s 1995 play Mojo won numerous awards when it first opened at the Royal Court Theatre, and its revival for the tiny White Bear Theatre in Kennington by One Fell Swoop sees it down size in scale, but not at all in power and emotion.
Set in a 1950s Dean Street club under the shadow of gang culture and a feared overlord, it might be considered a dark play but director Sebastien Blanc believes that Butterworth’s characters are deep down just out of depth kids in a playground, struggling with being the big guy in the gang and being bullied by peers. Their world is anything but glamourous – Baby, Potts, Sid, Silver Johnny, Oscar, Sweets and Skinny are all damaged and disturbed, damaging and disturbing humans living in the shadow of the felt but never seen Ezra.
Scheming, plotting, and paranoia all descend into murder and intrigue, but this violence and disturbance are born from fear, and the fact that perpetrators are simultaneously the victims makes them relatable even whilst we detest their actions.
Blanc’s approach to acting is very much from the Meissner school, and the emotional intensity sparking between the actors is palpable. Max Saunders Singer, who plays Potts and Sid has been nominated for an Off West End Award for his portrayal of the latter, but the whole cast bring visceral menace and deep vulnerability to their characterisation of those humans caught in this world of chilling activity from which they can’t escape.
It’s incredibly fast paced, despite taking place in only one room, due to the frantic amphetamine fuelled paranoia that descends upon the gang, and the tight space of the theatre. Full of dynamic tension, sound tracked by a buoyant fifties jukebox, and a detailed set, the senses are assaulted along with the emotions. Described as a comedy, this is not exactly a laugh out loud couple of hours, but bitter comedy.
One Fell Swoop Productions was founded by Blanc and friends to create and deliver theatre that does not just sat back and enjoyed , but changes lives, perspective, and forces the viewer to ask questions (all of their shows support a charity with particular resonance to the play, and so this time around it is Beat Bullying).
On these grounds, Mojo at the White Bear Theatre is a success.
Director: Sebastien Blanc
Cast:
Luke Trebilcock (Baby)
Max Saunders Singer: Potts
Oscar Blend: Mickey
Skinny: Max Warrick
Sweets: Jack Heath
Silver Johnny: Ben Hall
Mojo is produced by One Fell Swoop Productions www.1fellswoop.co.uk and runs until the 21st September.

off west end – and so she thinks

Made In Britain at Old Red Lion Theatre

Mojo, White Bear Theatre