Watch: Dirty Butterfly @ The Young Vic

Last night I took myself on a date. A bit of background here; I'd realised my theatre game was slipping considerably and tweeted for suggestions of what to see. Someone recommended Dirty Butterfly at the Young Vic...but it was sold out, my only option was to turn up and go on the reserve list. So yesterday I took myself down to The Young Vic, popped myself on the reserve list and tucked into a soft shell crab burger while waiting an hour and half to find out if I could even watch the show!
It was a very last minute thing so I knew people wouldn't generally be free and also I didn't really want to drag friends down there if I couldn't 100% guarantee we would even see the show. So I dated myself and boy am I glad I did!

I got in...just. I was the last person on the reserve list to slip through, even a lovely actor pal David Ajala was turned away, along with many others. I took my seat but I was not prepared for what I was about to see. The show ran at 65 minutes with no interval and I left feeling physically battered; it is such a powerful and visceral piece of theatre.

Written by debbie tucker green and orginally performed in 2003 at the Soho Theatre, this production was directed by Tinuke Craig, the Genesis Future Directors Award winner, who I used to attend the National Theatre youth group with when I was about 14. Brilliant to see her flying like this.

Jason (played by Anthony Welsh) can hear his neighbour Jo (Seline Hizli) through his wall, and so he stays up all night listening. Their neighbour Amelia (Estella Daniels) can hear too, that's why she sleeps downstairs on her sofa now. They play looks at voyeurism and that strange notion we have around domestic violence sometimes of 'not wanting to get involved'. Because one thing that is clear is that Jo is being hideously and regularly physically violated by her husband.

debbie tucker green uses a lryical writting style for working class characters, both Jo and Amelia sound distinctly South London to my ear and the staccato, overlapping rhythmic speech, particularly at the beginning, are spliced with second generation West Indian phrases and speech patterns from Amelia. The characters say all the things that they wished they had said to each other, the things they should have said, the things they wanted to say...

In the second scene the carpets are rolled up to reveal the pristine tiled floor of the cafe that Amelia works in. Hyemi Shin has done a brilliant job of creating a stark clinical white of the floor and lower walls versus a bland brown of the rest of the set; the boringness of reality. The white floors are soon awash with red blood and regret.

tucker green has created beautifully flawed characters. Jason, a stuttering man unable to bring himself to really help; we are sure that he wants to but Jo often hints that his voyeurism has more pervy motives. Amelia presents as harsh and disconnected in all that she says but her actions never quite follow up, she can't be unaffected by what she knows. And Hizli excels as Jo, we pity her but she is not a weak, beaten character; she snarls at and ridicules Jason, aggravates Amelia and slinks or crawls across the stage with a combination of sensuality, depravity and turmoil I was amazed to see all in one actor. Genuinely inspired me to up my acting levels.

Dirty Butterfly only shows until this Saturday the 11th, but if you can get down there and put your name on that reserve list..cross every finger and toe and hope you get in. Well worth it.

Watch: Hopelessly Devoted @ The Tricycle

Missing Orange is the New Black? Well Hopelessly Devoted, which opened at the Tricycle Theatre on Monday, might just fill the gap. Set in a women's prison, the play is a Paines Plough and Birmingham Repertory Theatre production written by the amazingly talented Kate Tempest who I recently discovered through her show Brand New Ancients. While Hopelessly Devoted doesn't meet the incredibly high standard Tempest set with Ancients (I seriously had goosebumps all the way through that show), it is an emotive and thoughtful piece about the realities of prison, it's effect on the wider family and institutionalisation.

The central character is Chess (Cat Simons) who begins to face the reality of saying goodbye to her partner Serena (Gbemisola Ikumelo) at the same time she begins a prisoners music programme with Silver (Michelle Gayle) a formerly successful music producer, who is using the scheme as a chance to rediscover a love of music that was compromised through addiction.

A starkly simple stage with just a table to one side and a large screen at the back of the stage filled with boxes that are occasionally back lit, represents the prison and cells and allows for the actors to really tell the story unaided. Tales of domestic violence and a fear of leaving prison for the outside world when faced with little prospects are all explored as well as both Chess and Serena's experience of missing their children and the complicated procedures to get them back.

The simplicity and mutual support of the new relationship Chess and Serena have found with each other is one of the strong points of the play; the realisation that neither had ever felt like this before and Chess's terror at what it means for them when Serena does get released. Together they dance in their cell as if moving on a chess board and it is devastating to watch Chess try to recreate this dance on her own after Serena leaves.

I was pleased to note that the word 'lesbian' was not uttered once. This wasn't a comment on sexuality merely the telling of a loving relationship in complicated circumstances; all too often LGBT characters are 'framed' by their sexuality unnecessarily and I was pleased to see Tempest felt that surplus to the story.

Music is obviously a huge part of the play, from the characters singing lines from songs to each other constantly which made for a nice musical nostalgia to the actual music Chess makes with Silver in their session. I feel it is here that Tempest really shines, the language when used in lyrical form is the strongest and most emotive in the whole piece. Kate Tempest began as a spoken word artist and in Hopelessly Devoted the raw, vibrant performance of Simmons really brings her lyrics alive.

Towards the conclusion of the play, there is much about social networking sites like Facebook and sharing sites such as YouTube which jar slightly with the piece, but it does involve some nice projection onto the screen and spawns the lines:
"What's social media?"
"Like social services"
which received a huge laugh.

Cat Simmons was consistently strong as the central character Chess but her cockney/ghetto accent was overdone and grated after 5 minutes. Michelle Gayle was suitably earnest and just the right balance of sanctimonious and genuine as Silver but Gbemisola Ikumelo stole the show as Serena, playing her with such naturalistic ease and delivering the most well rounded, conflicted and yet still likeable character. She is one to watch, as is Stef O'Driscoll who co-directed with James Grieve. I've followed Stef O'Driscoll's career since seeing her direct 'Yard Gal' at the Oval House theatre years ago and the energy she brings to a piece is palpable. I look forward to seeing what she does next.

Shanika Says: Hopelessly Devoted is showing at the Tricycle until the 19th April, well worth getting down there for some musical and theatrical entertainment. Tickets range between £10 and £28 or only £11 if you're under 26!

All photos taken from The Tricycle Theatre Facebook page, all rights reserved by Paines Plough, photo credit Richard Davenport.

nut

 

First things first. debbie tucker-green and Nadine Marshall are a bloody dream team. I saw Random, tucker-green’s one woman show where Marshall played all characters back in 1998 and spent 30 minutes of a 45 minute show blubbing like a baby (it was a great show, I’m an emotional person, tears are good, stop judging me). nut, currently showing at The Shed at the National Theatre, does the double for the pair; Marshall knows just how to bring her words to life. Harsh, raw, REAL life.

nut, like Random before it, doesn’t deal with a light hearted topic. The focus here is mental health with a dose of self-harm and marriage breakdown for good measure. The opening scene finds Elayne (Marshall) and her friends (Sophie Stanton as Aimee, the gorgeous Anthony Welsh as Devon  and Trey, played by alternating young actors) discussing their funerals; eulogies, the service and so on. The staccato style of writing lends itself to the colloquial voices of the characters, the lines coming hard and fast at the audience, almost like poetry. There is plenty of laughter at the barbed quips thrown, the kind that can only be thrown between close friends, between ex-lovers, between sisters and these are the other characters we meet throughout the 70 minute piece. Ex-wife (Sharleyne Whyte) and Ex-husband (Gershwyn Eustache Jnr) can’t help but antagonise each other and hash over their failings as individuals and as parents trying to deal with raising a child now that they’ve broken down and we see the encircling effects of mental health issues on the wider family when Ex-wife levels the accusation at her sister Elayne, that she is the reason for their marriage failing.

Lisa Marie Hall’s striking set of twisted metal extending from the ceiling is a good match for the subjects explored here; hard, cold, and heavy. The play is as thick and intense as the awful Honey Rose herbal cigarette smoke that fills the space (smoking and cigarettes are pivotal in a hanging off the edge of your seat kinda way – I definitely did that) and the murmours when the penny finally drops ripple through the audience. It doesn’t try to offer any cushioning, there aren’t any tears or soft comforting cuddles on stage, the characters don’t try to proclaim that everything will be okay. Often in these situations, it isn’t okay in the end.

Photograph by Tristram Kenton for The Guardian

 

Shanika Says: go and see nut at The Shed until the 5th December

N.B The Shed, 'A temporary venue celebrating new theatre that is adventurous, ambitious and unexpected' * is fast becoming one of my favourite theatres.

*Taken from the National Theatre website

 

Billy The Girl

Mothers. Daughters. Sisters. The complicated relationship between female relatives is what Katie Hims new play, a commission by Clean Break theatre company (a company that explore females and the justice system), is all about. Joanna Scotcher's set was inspired, a caravan sat in the crowded back garden of a small house, the back door and garden gate on either side. The clutter and randomness of the objects in the garden and caravan perfectly mirror the intensity of the relationship between Ingrid (Christine Entwisle) and her daughters Billy (Danusia Samal) and Amber (Naomie Ackie), while the fact that the whole piece is set outside in the garden speaks volumes about the strains on the relationship.

Tension crackles between mum Ingrid and Billy, the foul mouthed, wayward daughter back after another spell in prison and determined to change her life via focusing her energies into healthy living and running a marathon, although definitely not for a cancer charity. Ingrid's desperation to be loved has been something that has driven a wedge between herself and her mum and although it is Ingrid who says Billy has a bit of false memory syndrome, the audience gets the feeling that actually, when it comes to her succession of boyfriends, Billy is the one who is spot on.

The accents are just the right side of working class to give a does of 'salt of the earth' realism without being over exaggerated or offensive. Newcomer Naomie Ackie shone as the adorable, not entirely innocent 'angel' Amber, who just wants to bring her family back together and has all the innocent idealism and teenage rebellion of your average 15 year old.

When the 75 minute show finished I thought it was an interval; it felt way too soon, I felt as though I were just beginning to see a breakthrough in this tentative, volatile family. But I guess that's the best way to leave an audience - wanting more, brimming with hope or dread or both.
Oh and there's also an inspired use of a bear costume. Kinda worth going just to see what they get up to with that.

Billy The Girl shows at the Soho Theatre until the 24th November

Crowning Glory

Yesterday I headed down to the Theatre Royal Stratford East to watch a new play by playwright Somalia Seaton. First things first, the bar at the theatre serves Caribbean food and I had jerk salmon for the first time, so I mean the theatre already has a lot going for it. Secondly, I was served by the most gorgeous, bearded bartender with a hint of a regional accent, so I was lovestruck (I will most likely be back here soon...naughty!)

The play ‘Crowning Glory’ is Seaton’s first full production and is an exploration of hair and complexion politics faced by black British women today. Often hilariously funny, the play uses a chorus of 7 women to examine the way childhood memories, treatment from complete strangers and the media today all contribute to the big debate – to go natural, to perm or to weave?

There are a series of monologues from the women, Half-Breed, Pickyead, Panther, Hair Comb, Token,  Bal-Ead and Bounty, with the others forming a an interchangeable chorus throughout, which worked better for some speeches than others; they seemed a bit irrelevant and lacklustre on stage during Bal-Ead’s but brilliant as bobbing wigs during Panthers’. Sheri-An (Hair Comb) gives a brilliant performance as a little girl getting her combed by her mother while simultaneously narrating in the Jamaican mothers voice and Allyson Ava-Brown (Half Breed) articulated a lot of my own experiences as a mixed race girl, of people being fascinated by her curly hair while she herself did not see the fascination. There is a danger of leaning too heavily on stereotypes in the cases of ‘Bounty’ and ‘Token’ (I did enjoy that the subversion of ‘Token’, with the token being a white girl rather than a black girl however) and although the emotions displayed by many of the actors allowed us to see their acting ability, I would have liked to have seen a more balanced view, with some more positive stories related to hair and skin; out of 7 only 1 was without any inner turmoil.

The split level stage was a visually interesting performance space and the sliding screens for the multi media videos were a nice touch. One element that actually detracted from the play were the interviews with regular women about their views on beauty and when they feel most attractive. These could have been played as the audience took their seats as it interrupted the flow of the piece and cheapened the production values.

The final ensemble piece was an impassioned speech about self confidence and finding beauty outside the realm of Western beauty, it did veer on the preachy side but was a positive message for the women in the audience – and there were a lot. I counted 4 men, including my mate who I was with!

All in all, an assured debut from Seaton with a strong message and some interesting theatrical devices so try and check it out while it’s still on.

(Runs until Saturday 9^Th November)

Playwright Somalia Seaton

Lovesong

I’m a huge (some might say hopeless) romantic. I believe in soul mates, everlasting love and all that jazz, so a play entitled ‘Lovesong’  (Lyric theatre, Hammersmith) sounded right up my street. And it was.

Simultaneously telling the story of Maggie and Billy in their twenties and also in present day, Lovesong couples the mundane aspects of a marriage with the significant and uses music and multi-media to beautiful effect to tell this story of love, time and mortality.

The set was minimal; just a table, bed and wardrobe but with the video projection onto pillars and the leaves covering the whole stage, the entire house and garden were easily visualised. The characterisation of Maggie (Sian Phillips) and Billy (Sam Cox) as an elderly couple was spot on, the nagging and routine of familiarity. Young Billy (Edward Bennet) was charming and sarcastic in equal measure and while young Maggie (Leanne Rowe) was a little predictable and stiff, she looked amazing in her 1960’s costumes and her woodenness didn’t apply to her dance. A collaboration between writer Abi Morgan (Shame, The Hour)and physical theatre company Frantic Assembly, dance and movement sequences were used to convey emotion staggeringly well. I found some of the individual routines a little redundant and even a bit uncomfortable to watch in the case of the older Maggie, as she seemed so fragile, but this was obviously the intention. However, they were powerfully moving when performed together; when Billy moved with the young incarnation of Maggie you could see his yearning for a time when she was strong young and healthy. When the young couple cavorted on the kitchen table, the routine was so effective and steamy I’m sure I blushed.

But it was the incredible bed scene that really stood out and jumped easily into my top 3 physical theatre moments ever. All four actors performed an epic movement sequence which saw them all enter and exit at various time through a ‘crack’ in the bed, sliding in and out of the performance space. It was frantic yet fluid and poignantly symbolic of the overlapping of time; our past, present and future. As the four actors moved across the bed, slipping in and out of the hidden entrance, they were so interlocked, as indeed the lives of a married couple are.

Love is the theme of this play. Love in its every day form, picking what to wear or to eat, discussing friends and neighbours and the marital home. Love when it is flirty and fresh, full of kisses and touches. Love when it reaches the complicated times of financial hardship, infidelity, infertility. Love as it deals with illness and prepares to be parted. The scene of Billy counting all the things he would no longer be able to do for himself when Maggie dies, begins with him sounding incredibly put out but becomes heartbreaking as his anger rises, as we realise that it just may ring true. The delicate question of what happens to a love when one person is no longer in this mortal life was handled so realistically and the older actors were heart-warming. By the final scene, when they recounted how they met whilst finishing each other’s sentences and then lay listening to one iPod after Maggie had taken the pills she had been storing up for this very night, the sniffling in the audience was almost louder than the actors. Almost everyone was in tears, not least my friend who had cried on and off since about 10 minutes in, and the actors came out for 5 encores.  Beautifully produced, beautifully acted and with a stunning soundtrack that along with video added to an almost film like quality, Lovesong was truly a triumph for love.