Live Art Alive

That Love Thing

Created and Performed by Peter Keeley

Directed by Mike Shepherd

HOME

Mancunion writer and actor Peter Keeley has cerebral palsy and is a wheelchair user. This Love Thing showcases his poetry and his love of music, old movies, biscuits and romance. In a series of conversational and dramatic vignettes Keeley deftly and wryly shows himself as way more than the ignorant and often cruel stereotypical perceptions of disability. This is a guy whose intelligence, wit and sex drive are every bit as powerful as his favourite wheelchair the mighty Meteor. Alongside him on his journey through his life stories is his companion and fellow actor/writer Michael Begley. Together on stage the warm companionable energy and easy affection is reminiscent of a quality comedy double act from a bygone era.

On a stage littered with vertigo challenging ladders are old fashioned tea trolleys, record players and television that hark back to the past. They exude charm while the imposing ladders hint at barriers to certain hopes and dreams. Moments where Michael whispers bitter comments on disability that are robustly challenged by Peter are perhaps hints that it’s time to leave old fashioned views of disability behind and look with fresh eyes at the person and not the chair they sit in.

There is a lovely energy to this production with Director Mike Shepherd using that sense of magical whimsy that Kneehigh do so well. The use of masks and puppetry to bring to life the spectre of Mr C.P. as a satanic influence on Peters life is playful and dramatic but highly effective as a description of living with cerebral palsy. The choice of songs such from artists such as Leonard Cohen, The Velvet Underground and James illustrate the themes of love and loss. They play alongside poetry from Keeley and tell of human desire and the frustrations of living with cerebral palsy but also the poignancy of bereavement and grief. The writer’s mother was a midwife who had safely delivered so many babies for others but the birth of her twin boys in the hospital she worked was difficult and both babies were born with cerebral palsy.

Peter Keeley and Michael Begley in That Love Thing. Image credit: Natalia Riga

Peter Keeley seems utterly at home on stage and delivers a truly charming performance. Michael Begley sings, dances and slithers up ladders as the sinister Mr C.P. while carefully ensuring that this show flows but keeps Keeley first and foremost throughout the production. At an hour long this is a brief but highly memorable window into one man’s life. Perhaps the next outing may even introduce the mysterious, much desired Miss Jones…I do hope so…

HOME 20th, 22nd -23rd November 2024

COCK

Small Theatres

Written by Mike Bartlett

Directed by Rupert Hill

HER PRODUCTIONS/ Up Ere Productions

53Two

This 2009 play by Mike Bartlett caused quite a stir in London and New York when originally staged. The dilemma of a man hopelessly procrastinating over whether to choose to continue a life with his male partner of seven years or start afresh with a woman he has recently met when on a relationship break makes for an interesting premise. Perhaps originally viewed as a gritty exploration of a gay man trying to come to terms with being bisexual, COCK is much more nuanced. This Pinteresque drama is a blistering analysis of one man’s indecisiveness as he wrestles not just with his sexuality but his very sense of Self. Seemingly powerless to make a clear decision in his personal life, this production highlights just how destructive and controlling John’s behaviour is precisely because of his wavering. His partner M and new lover W are seemingly locked into this love triangle by John’s unwillingness to choose one of them as he refuses to label his sexual desire. Is he simply a selfish man wanting his cake with extra cock and cunt or is he genuinely torn with a human desire that defies a neat societal label?

Director Rupert Hill confidently tackles the complex issues raised in this meaty play. He is ably supported by a very strong cast. Joe Gill is John, the procrastinating partner whose wavering indecision makes him oblivious to the cruel impact his actions have on M and W. Gill gives John a certain likability despite the pain he inflicts on those he loves. There is genuine poignancy in this internal struggle with identity and the societal pressure to conform to the expectations of others. John O’Neill bristles with raw hurt, frustration and insecurity and misogyny. Totally immersed in his character his performance is mesmerising even off stage when he watches John and W with an almost voyeuristic intent.

John O’Neill and Joe Gill in COCK at 53Two Image credit: Shay Rowan

Hannah Ellis Ryan is gutsy and vibrant as W; intensely set on getting John to choose her. It’s easy to see the attraction she draws from John as her character enthrals him with her positivity and enthusiasm. The scene where John discovers heterosexual sex is witty and perfectly pitched and Ellis Ryan nails it. With legs akimbo at one end of the bare stage, she gleefully sets the scene with a pose reassembling a goalpost awaiting a winning penalty goal. Colin Connor is the father hell-bent on protecting his son’s relationship with a mixture of floundering confusion and genuine love for both men. This performance adds real rich humour and warmth to the dinner party from hell as the other chief protagonists battle over John.

It’s a credit to the production and the actors that some of the raw edges in this Bartlett play matter less than they should. It would be easy to dismiss John as not worth either characters love, or wonder if W is not just a tad obsessed or that M is coercive and controlling. Instead the focus is on the electrifying energy on the stage which seems powerful enough to charge the four lamps that mark the corners of this otherwise unadopted stage. The sound arrangement by Alec Waters is the only other adornment to subtly reflect the emotional charge onstage and does so very effectively. The closing scene gives no really satisfying conclusion and here it doesn’t need to as the acting itself is the icing on this cake.

53TWO 13th – 17th November 2024

KIN

Small Theatres

Roberta Kerr as Kay in KIN at HOME
Image credit: Shay Rowan

Written by Christine Mackie

Directed by Sue Jenkins

Her Productions and Best Girl Productions

HOME

Two sisters-in-law come together to bury one man. Robert was a husband to Kay and a big brother to Steph but as the play unfolds it would appear that Robert was so much more as family secrets are revealed and his grieving wife discovers she has just buried a man she barely knew. So far so good in this all female led, meaty saga written by Christine Mackie. This is gutsy, character led drama written to celebrate story telling for women of a certain age and it certainly delivers on all those fronts. There is gritty realism, high drama and even a few post- menopausal punches… weilding fists not fans!

This dark family tale with multiple twists and turns is further strengthened by assured performances from both leads in this two-hander. Roberta Kerr is excellent as Kay, a working class woman who has forged a successful independent business career despite marrying old money in the gentrified Robert. Her performance veers from brusque, pragmatic keep calm and carry on to moments of desperate hurt and pure rage and consternation as Steph blithely tears her world asunder. Kerr makes every moment and gesture count ensuring her on stage presence commands your attention. Steph is equally complex but is a harder watch on stage as her story arc unfolds. Kerry Willison-Parry does a great job delivering many of the witty one-liners as the feckless youngest daughter in a blue-blooded family full of dark secrets. However her character is by turns so utterly loathsome and irritating that it is difficult to feel genuine empathy and affection for this damaged women who has never really grown up and matured. Even in the final moments of the play it seems like her attempts to mother effectively will require Kay to mother her.

Kerry Willison-Parry as Steph in KIN at HOME. Image credit: Shay Rowan

These two women unpick the historic family dynamics in a way that repeatedly pulls them closer then blows them apart until a potentially redemptive ending that may just herald a new beginning for both of them. Director Sue Jenkins ensures that the bleaker dramatic moments are laced through with a blend of dark humour, tea and Chardonnay. There are however concerns where occasional moments of slightly hammed up humour land awkwardly and risk some of the more harrowing events in this production losing their full emotional impact. I can only commend both actresses for maintaining their composure in a particularly poignant scene despite several audience members guffawing throughout a scene that deals with some incredibly sensitive topics. This full length play has all the elements of a juicy Radio 4 play or the Christmas evening episode of a major Soap opera. It’s great to see women writing and creating vivid stories together for themselves and for each other.

HOME MCR 29th Oct – 2nd Nov 2024

Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz

Theatre

Nathan Queeley-Dennis
Image credit: Mihaela Bodlovic

Written and Performed by Nathan Queeley-Dennis

Directed by Dermot Daly

ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE

In 2022 I watched an excerpt from this winner of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting at the Royal Exchange Theatre. It felt fresh and vibrant and the words seemed to come alive in the space. Receiving the award was actor and first time playwright Nathan Queeley-Dennis who also seemed to bounce unto the stage with an unbridled joy and enthusiasm. Two years on via a highly successful reception at the Edinburgh Fringe and midway through a national tour Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz revisits this stage and owns it with all the surety and panache of a worthy winner.

This one hour monologue celebrates the writers’ home city of Birmingham as Queeley-Dennis brings to life his local barbershop, the call centre where he works and his favourite rum bar via dark Techno clubs and rooftop vistas at dawn. Watching this performance in the round is like witnessing a masterclass in how to deftly work the room as an accomplished stand up comedian. Fluid delivery and perfect timing ensure that every carefully crafted line lands exactly as intended. There is a vivid poetry in scenes that describe his almost erotic connection with his barber or his cautious stepping into the world of his beloved Techno which has been appropriated and whitewashed. Dotted through this monologue are carefully placed options in his life that include picking from a trio of emergency barbers or a trio of emergency toilet states. They all in their own way allude to a sense of anxiety or otherness at odds in this seemingly happy well adjusted guy in his mid twenties.

Nathan is an Arts graduate working in a call centre and trying to date but this is a man whose passion to create is being increasingly dulled by his workplace environment. His serial dating is not that of a heartless predator but a man on a mission to find the “one”…or at least the one who shares a name with a member of Destiny’s Child and has well moisturised elbows. His forays into the world of dating are both painfully funny or bittersweet and at times involve placing his heart in the hands of emotional terrorists. When he finally lands a date with a woman who might just be perfect for him, the audience are routing for this charming young man but the sudden shift in pace suggest his happy ending may not be on a rooftop overlooking his beloved Birmingham but may indeed yet be as a Brummie Basquiat.

Under the care of Director Dermot Daly who clearly relishes every word of this well crafted script, Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz sings on every level. Whether in the cleverly placed soundbites of songs from Destiny’s Child or Queeley-Dennis delivering some high energy rapping or musing on the nature of strawberries and owls to the faint trace of Stan Getz there is a musicality to this production that will play in your head long after leaving the theatre.

ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE 28th-30th October 2024

National Tour dates

NOWHERE

Small Theatres

Written and Performed by Khalid Abdalla

Directed by Omar Elerian

Produced by Fuel

HOME MCR

Actor Khalid Abdalla is probably best known as the lead terrorist in movies such as United 93 or portraying Dodi Fayed in The Crown; and now as a first time playwright. However Abdalla is also a political activist who like his father and grandfather has been arrested but unlike either of them has not been imprisoned for his political views. He was a founding member of Mosireen, a non-profit media collective born out of the revolution in Egypt. From 2011-2014 it was a revolutionary activist hub based in Cairo dedicated to supporting and producing citizen media. At its height Mosireen’s YouTube channel was the most watched non-profit channel in the world. It continues to be the most watched non-profit channel in Egypt. Born in Glasgow to parents who fled Egypt via Iraq and who later read English at Queens’ College, Cambridge University, this is clearly a man who does not fit neatly into the stereotypes portrayed in Reel Bad Arabs .

This erudite performer blends mime, video and choreography with anecdotes from his family history and his life as an actor and as a political activist. Under the sensitive direction of Omar Elerian this striking and profoundly moving piece of theatre manages to engage and entertain while educating on the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, the riots in Tahir Square, the violence in Gaza and the experience of navigating passport control around the world as an Arab man with a Scottish accent mistaken as born in Ireland by the Egyptian government. It is hardly surprising that this piece entitled Nowhere is dedicated to exploring the impact of colonialism and decolonisation and what our individual histories bring to our sense of self and others. In a troubled world of seemingly unending seismic events Nowhere asks how we can continue to look on and not acknowledge that every life has value and is a part of the tapestry of our shared history and future.

The subject matter here is powerful and at times harrowing. There is no shying away from footage of bloody riots and devastated communities but these images are cleverly interspersed with threads of the performers’ own family history. Family photos show his parents as a young couple and Abdalla as a young child in a bow tie and kilt or his own children wide eyed as the family car goes through an automated car wash. These images flash up alongside images of politicians and dictators and negative images of stereotypical Arabs from Hollywood films. There is a moving picture of his grandfather painted by a fellow prisoner in the 1950s and video of the extraordinary film of 11500 sets of baby and children’s clothing stretched out on Bournemouth beach by Led By Donkeys.

Running through this production is another thread that celebrates and honours friendship. Aalam Wassef was an artist and activist collaborator from 2011 til his death from pancreatic cancer last year. Throughout this piece what shines brightly is the love and admiration for a man who loved life and who seized every day and made it have value. Death and the ensuing grief gives us all a perspective on life that fundamentally changes us and how we see ourselves and others. This was a brilliant life cut short by illness which could have just as easily been eviscerated in the Cairo riots.

In one of the more playful interactive parts of the production, the audience is invited to literally hold up a mirror to our own faces and draw ourselves with reference to the paper. This is an exercise we can continue to do and develop as the writer has but fundamentally what it suggests is ultimately if we allow ourselves to access our inner child we are all just a series of lines and squiggles regardless of class, culture or race.

In part of the piece Abdalla talks about how modern Cairo was designed on the same model as Haussmann famously used for 19th century Paris. The city planning made insurrection famously difficult and he describes how he and his fellow revolutionaries dug up the stones underfoot to throw as weapons of protest. That is a powerful image of people literally taking the ground from under their feet as a means of social protest. On the same day as I saw this production I read the Reuters article about the impact of the bombing of the Gaza Strip. “Israel’s military campaign since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack has devastated the Gaza Strip, leaving an estimated 42 million tonnes of debris piled where houses, mosques, schools and shops used to stand. In April a U.N. estimate reckoned that this would take 14 years to dispose of, while the U.N. official overseeing the problem said the clean-up would cost at least $1.2 billion.” NOWHERE is a sprawling piece of theatre covering multiple elements but at its core is a heartfelt plea for sanity in an increasingly mad world. We are killing children all across the world in wars about land boundaries which is utterly pointless if we leave nothing but rubble behind for the next generation.

HOME 22nd – 26th October 2024

WRESTLELADSWRESTLE

Theatre

Created and Performed by Jennifer Jackson

Outside Eye Sarah Frankcom

HOME

Theatre 2 in HOME is pulsing with energy during this new production devised by Jennifer Jackson with the assistance of fellow performer Simon Carroll Jones (Head of Movement at The Arden). The stage is piled up with thick wrestling mats which are later moved to reveal a full drum kit on which Isobel Odelola punches out a mean beat. Jackson was the under 50kg British Judo Champion at age 15 and seems to have lost little of her energy and prowess. Mixing dance movements and judo moves, the narrative weaves strands of storytelling from Jackson’s childhood involving a racist event and a scenario involving a drunken incident at a taxi rank with segments of teaching self defence Judo moves to an actual girl gang. The result packs a punch as the production explores racism and oppression while asking why women continue to be so unsafe on the streets and in their homes that they still need self defense classes to protect themselves.

Jackson is a gifted storyteller who vividly evokes 1980s Coventry and transports the audience to the sales queue in C&A as she and her petite Bolivian mother wait their turn. Loops of this scenario repeat sometimes featuring a red-faced angry man and eventually an angry white woman with the young Jackson witnessing her Mother being subjected to a racist attack. At times the scenario involves the performer challenging this unprovoked oppressive behaviour with a samurai sword or verbally making the aggressor see the error of their ways and apologise or sees the child get away with some ribald swearing in defence of her mother. The more prosaic actual truth of standing in silence and shame in the store queue has clearly shaped Jackson as a person and was also the catalyst to having judo training as a young girl. The other incident is also told from a range of perspectives. At times it is a funny story of fighting off a drunken woman trying to jump the queue at a late night taxi rank. In one instance she is celebrated as a feisty woman who pours a pint over the other woman and taunts her that she is a judo champion but when the tale loops again it has a darker edge suggesting the other woman’s vulnerability and desperation to get in a cab just to get home safely.

There are some lovely pieces of movement involving Jackson and Carroll Jones that see judo moves blend with elements of traditional Bolivian dance and Old Holywood dance routines which at times shift into an insidious violence of choke holds. The petite Anglo-Bolivian theatre-maker spars with her rather Aryan looking partner and teaches judo moves with clear instructions to her girl gang and the audience. The energy and pace of the piece is propelled by the drum beat and hi energy moments such as when Jackson wrestles a sex doll and pummels every inch of air out of it so it resembles a ragdoll. It presents as entertainment with the girl gang braying encouragement but as with so many implied undercurrents in this production there is something deeply unsettling about the casually discarded limp body lying on the stage.

By the end of the production the stage is filled with women all capable of felling the hapless judo assistant Simon. This is clearly celebrating safety in numbers and pure girl power as Jackson is surrounded by their communal embrace. There is a lot to like in this production and WRESTLELADSWRESTLE also benefits from some punchy captioning by Sarah Readman and live action video design from idontloveyouanymore that add a cartoon element to the work with all the BEEPS and GONGS flashing up onscreen. There are however some staging issues such as although the drum kit is raised up and highly visible, the piece also features a lot of floor work which is not always easy to see unless sat in the very front rows. Overall Jackson delivers a message of self defense training as empowerment and a worthy alternative to standing silently in a queue if no one comes to your aid.

HOME 3rd – 12th October 2024

HUSK

Small Theatres

Written by Rupert Hill

Directed by Joseph Houston

HER PRODUCTIONS

HOPE MILL THEATRE

Billed as a tale of revenge HUSK is ultimately more a story of the redemptive nature of true friendship. Writer and Performer Rupert Hill writes vividly and movingly about the perils of addiction but although this well paced and reflective piece of writing shows the destructive dangers of alcoholism, it’s most potent message is the importance of human bonds. The young protagonist Ray hero worships his Boss Graeme but is bitterly let down and abandoned by him setting Ray on a descent into ever more destructive behaviours. It is only the consistent care and affection of his prison mentor Stan and his old schoolfriend Beth who lift him up and breathe new life and hope into this husk of a man.

The set design by Sorcha Corcoran is highly effective evoking a sense of constriction and bleakness which is then transformed by the hazy, dreamy videoscapes by Grant Archer which allow the story to fluidly move back and forth in time like an old photo album of faded images. The lighting by Tom Sutcliffe enhances the drama and alongside the thoughtful sound design by Alec Waters, ensures that the closing scenes are memorable long after leaving the theatre.

This is a confident and assured production directed by Hope Mill Theatre co-owner Joseph Houston. It may have elements that suggest a writer more at home with film and television but Houston has managed to ensure this ambitious project can move through time in a smooth and cohesive manner. There is only one scene that risks jarring the subtle build of tension where Hill dressed as his dead mother enters a rough Blackpool bar full of football fans. Seemingly seeking suicide by football hooligan rather than cop, the timid withdrawn Ray provokes and baits them until he ends up battered and in hospital. It feels difficult to imagine this fragile man making this choice yet dramatically it does serve to allow Beth another means to bring Ray back to her father’s home while still unaware of the potential risks for both men.

Rupert Hill leads a strong cast and his writing is profoundly generous allowing some of the other characters the very best lines in the play. Danielle Henry gives a warmth and depth to Beth that shows why every man on stage relies on her in very different ways. Hill exudes vulnerability in an understated way that shows his quiet journey into alcoholism as a path including social acceptance and fatherly encouragement through to using drink to blot out any emotions to the point where he is indeed a husk of a man. This is a strong cast with well crafted characters but the standout performance is David McCreedy as Ray’s fellow inmate and mentor. Stan is an opionated Scotsman who loves Barbra Streisand and now abhors the demon drink. Determined to keep Ray on the right path MacCreedy is utterly brilliant in his role coupling great comic timing with gritty realism as he remains an unwavering support for the fragile Ray.

Rupert Hill and David McCreedy in HUSK. Image credit: Shay Rowan

HUSK shines a powerful light on how alcohol is so readily available and used in so many subtle ways… to celebrate, to commiserate, to build social confidence or help us fit in and blend in, to heighten or to numb our feelings…the list is endless. Ray is in prison because of a misguided loyalty to a man who first introduced him to alcohol and his only path out of prison and staying free is to eschew the demon drink and shake his thirst on healthier ways. Leaving Ray on stage content and bathed in the sunshine while he harvests the fruits of the soil perfectly echoes how Hill may feel as he stands in the spotlight as the curtain comes down on his debut play.

Hope Mill Theatre 25th-29th September 2024

The Dukes, Lancaster 2nd and 3rd October 2024

The Lieutenant of Inishmore

Large Theatres

Written by Martin McDonagh

Directed by Chris Sonnex

LIVERPOOL EVERYMAN

☆☆☆☆

Director Chris Sonnex unleashes the mad and the bad in this blistering tale of revenge for the death of Wee Thomas the cat. Martin McDonagh’s macabre snapshot of life on a remote Irish island during the burgeoning peace process in the Nineties is rich in gallows humour and is a wicked take on Irish sentimentalism and fervent religious and political fundamentalism. Celebrating the absurd in the tradition of Beckett, Sonnex ramps up the bizarre and comedic elements with a torture scene in a nightclub and members of the splinter terrorist group, the INLA, strutting on stage in balaclavas like a psychotic boy band stage singing the Village People’s Go West as they head from Northern Ireland to this remote Western island in Eire. The deceptively simple set design by Ellie Light and lighting by Laura Howard gives a great sense of the remoteness of this cottage on The Aran Isles while also allowing for high impact scenes in the nightclub on the mainland.

In a neat touch the whole cast are Irish and Northern Irish actors with several making their stage debut and some being graduates of The Lir Academy in Dublin where Gemma Bodinetz, previously at The Everyman, is now Artistic Director. The cast clearly relish their roles in a production where the comic book violence permits OTT performances and McDonagh’s quickfire dialogue of quips and barbs is always hi-energy and perfectly paced. Alan Turkington and Taylor McClaine are great foils for each other as the unfortunate father Donny and his hapless young neighbour Davey. Together they wreak havoc as they try to cover up the death of Wee Thomas with the aid of an orange tomcat and an old tin of shoe polish. The ensuing results have echoes of an episode of Father Ted but with gallons of blood and poteen instead of whisky and tea.

The Lieutenant in question is Padraic, a fervent republican and ardent cat lover who is deemed too mad for the IRA and who is now planning his own splinter group in a break away from the INLA. Julian Moore-Cook imbues Padraic with an utterly believable dichotomy of perspectives. At home with Tarantinoesque violence, he thoughtfully offers a menu of torture options to his hostage and won’t hesitate to bomb and butcher yet can wail like an anguished child over his beloved pet. Mairead is the 16 year old Irish beauty who can sing an Irish ballad like a celtic angel while cooly polishing her sniper skills by blinding the local cows. Katherine Devlin is excellent as the republican ingénue who is ultimately more terrifying than the combined force of the INLA.

Liverpool Everyman celebrates its 60th anniversary as a theatre that enjoys a reputation of being bold and innovative. This provocative production continues that proud tradition. McDonagh can divide opinion as a writer of Irish descent born in England yet writing so vividly on still sensitive issues in Ireland. Coming from Ireland myself and growing up during The Troubles I can recognise some of the potential issues but also how well this play reflects the duality and the complexity of human nature. This production does not shy away from the brutal violence or the madcap gallows humour often employed to cope with the horrific but also celebrates the humanity in all of us even when we are at our most inhumane.

Liverpool Everyman 21st Sept – 12th Oct 2024

A Raisin in the Sun

Large Theatres

Written by Lorraine Hansberry

Directed by Tinuke Craig

A Headlong, Leeds Playhouse, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and Nottingham Playhouse co-production

“Her creative ability and her profound grasp of the deep social issues confronting the world today will remain an inspiration to generations yet unborn.” These were the words of Martin Luther King Jnr spoken in 1965 at the funeral of playwright and activist Lorraine Hansberry. Almost 65 years on, her seminal play A Raisin in the Sun remains just as powerful as it was when originally produced as the first play by a black woman on Broadway. This new production directed by Tinuke Craig celebrates the writing of the hugely talented Hansberry as successfully as her production of August Wilson’s Jitney in 2022.

This production has all the elements of a classic kitchen sink drama as three generations of the Younger family are crammed into a roach infested apartment with paper thin walls and a shared bathroom in Chicago. Times are changing and so are the fortunes of this family who are waiting on a life insurance payout. The Matriach, Lena aspires to buy a small home with a yard to plant flowers and finance her daughter through college. Walter Lee, her son is a dissatisfied dreamer who sees the money as a way out of his job as a chauffeur and into a life as an owner of a liquor store with a fleet of cars on his own driveway. His weary wife Ruth wants nothing more than to get out of this cramped apartment and soak in her very own bathtub. Beneatha, the daughter imagines a bright future as a doctor. Grandson, Travis would simply be happy with a bedroom rather than sleeping on the living room couch each night.

The issues confronting this family are societal racism, poverty and how it restricts our choices and the politics of housing which remain just as relevant today. Each character is fully fleshed out and has complexity and depth. Doreene Blackstock as Lena exudes grace and resilience as she attempts to tend to her children while struggling to understand their very different desires. There is a yawning chasm between a woman who once saw freedom as not being lynched and a yearning to own rather than be owned and the very different aspirations of her children. Solomon Israel as her son is not afraid to play the greedy hapless dreamer who eventually finds some honour. He moves fluidly between casual cruelty and drunken misogyny to moments of real tenderness as he tries to navigate being the man of the house and doing right by his family. Joséphine-Fransilja Brookman brings a light comic touch to her portrayal of Beneatha. At times a flouncing, petulant teenager with as many aspirational hobbies as boyfriends there is also emotional depth as a young woman desiring a career rather than a husband, and who has more faith in herself than in a God. Cash Holland may sometimes lean too much into the melodrama but is very believable as a young wife living with her husband’s family and desperate to escape the cramped living conditions. One of three sharing in his role as Travis, Josh Ndlovu is excellent as the young boy in the midst of all the family drama.

The set design by Cécile Trémilières adds a dreamy realism. The sparse but perfectly clean furnishings illustrate the pride these women take in making the best of what is available to them, while the paper thin transparent walls highlight the lack of privacy and the tenuous nature of renting in an impoverished tenement. The dreamy, almost ghostly aspects of characters lit within the other rooms is highly evocative and perfectly alludes to the generations gone before who also dreamt of ownership and security.

The second Act looks at the repercussions of Lena buying property in a white area of Chicago. Ironically this is the most affordable option but it heralds a knock on the door from the politely “acceptable” face of racism as Karl from the Clybourne Park welcome committee offers to buy back the home from the family. Faced with the options to recoup the money Walter Lee has lost or have a home of their own despite the risks, the Younger family must make yet another monumental decision. A Raisin in the Sun was inspired by the poem Raison by Langston Hughes who asked What happens to a dream deferred? There will always be a multitude of answers to this question but this production gives its own response, and it is as powerful as Lorraine Hansberry first intended in 1959.

Leeds Playhouse 13th -28th September 2024

Lyric Hammersmith 8th Oct – 2nd Nov 2024

I Bought A Flip Phone

Theatre

Written and Performed by Panos Kandunias

HOME MCR

Charlie is a thinker, in fact Charlie is an over thinker with time on his hands to get lost in a vortex of thoughts and possibilities. Do we really need a deluge of social media, chat groups and notifications coming at us through our smart phones? Do we really need to see another one person theatre show examining their quarter century angst? Writer/Performer Panos Kandunias sits centre stage on a low stool and sets the bar high for answering these questions amongst others in a mere 60 mins. This ambitious premise may partly account for the rapid fire delivery throughout the production but thankfully Kandunias is an assured and charming performer who keeps his audience thoroughly engaged.

Charlie is planning his 27th birthday party on a Nokia Flip Phone while admitting to not having had a party since his 13th birthday when he had food at Nandos followed by a sleepover. He has a long gone dick of a dad, a neurotic but well meaning Mum, a best friend called Phoebe and a potential new boyfriend called Tate and a demanding job as a corporate assistant. It all sounds pretty fine and perfectly normal yet there are all the signposts leading to a crossroads where Charlie finds himself depressed, lonely and dissatisfied with his life. His rejection of his smartphone is an attempt to self soothe by avoiding screen time watching his friends and acquaintances lead seemingly perfect lives on social media. Charlie is feeling lost and adrift in a world where we text or scroll because it’s less scary than chatting on the phone or God forbid actually meeting in person.

The production is stripped back to literally a bloke and a phone but it’s a highly effective directorial decision as it brings the humanity into sharp focus. Alone on stage Kandunias can dance perfectly to Dua Lipa and be a bitchy, slightly petulant, pretty boy but can equally be vulnerable, lost and scared as he navigates his late Twenties. I bought a Flip Phone neatly and poignantly illustrates many of the issues and life stressors that bring so many people of this age into therapy. Charlie might have ditched his smartphone but he is still just as addicted to every ring and ping of the old phone beside him and what they tell him about his value to himself and the people he cares about. Friendships often change or flatmates move cities, expectations of where we should be in life are nudging our psyche like an incessant notification alert and we may have expected to have found “the one” only to find that we can’t even locate a dating app we want to stay faithful to! This short, bittersweet production neatly sums up quarter century angst and as Charlie’s voice cracks a little as he chats to his Mum about his favourite childhood food, it reminds us all of the importance of real human connection.

HOME 11th – 14th September 2024