FLIGHT: Festival of New Writing
Kindness
By Bridget Mackey
Directors: Kate
Shearman and Alice Darling
Designer: Yvette
Turnbull
Lighting Designer:
Sarah Walker
Sound Designer:
Andrew Dalziell
Cast: Maggie Brown, Tom Heath, Emily Tomlins,
Rachel Perks
Kindness is a kind of absurdist, pretty ridiculous and at times hilarious look
at the down side of the effects of the modern working environment.
In this slick
production, on a smart and stylish set by Designer Yvette Turnbull, that feels
like an office foyer, four individuals come and go and interact or barely interact through talking to/at each other.
Throughout they all seem to exposing hang-ups, quirks and fixations in a
bland environment where everything even their wacky ticks of behavior become monotonous.
There is the boss
who is cold and disinterested, the strange very old unwashed woman who quietly
creeps in and out and the co-workers who finally hook up. Generally interaction appears restrained and
pretty much hit-and-miss and has the musicality of an almost agitating
repetitive rhythm.
Nothing is fully
explained for example what positions the workers have or what they are doing. People come and go and hook into fairly
meaningless conversations and then exit.
One assumes that all characters except the old woman do actually do a
days turn of work.
And why the old
woman is there at all? Perhaps she is
homeless and creeps in for warmth and safety and comfort.
None of the
characters are particularly likable.
They all seem to have dropped any guise of being personable and
cheerful. And they are all pretty much
glibly expressing their pent up neuroses in the ‘liminal space’ of the office
foyer. They are mostly niggling and
evasive in their communication and too caught up in themselves to be interested
in each other.
A clear clean work
generally that did suffer from some garbled dialogue on the first night but one
that is bound to grow in meaning, depth and expressiveness through its run, for
what is guaranteed to be an appreciative audience.
Images:
Emily Tomlins, Maggie Brown, Rachel Perks & Tom Heath and Rachel Perks
& Tom Heath - (photographer: Sarah Walker).
Footnote: There seems to be a fairly contemporary new
style in programs that lists actors as performers without indication of exactly
which character they play. This can be
frustrating for those of us who are writing about Theatre. I have not discussed the work of individual
Actors on this occasion due to the lack of listing.
Yours The Face
By Fleur
Kilpatrick
Director &
Designer: Sarah Walker
Artistic
Consultant: Robert Reid
Performer:
Roderick Cairns
Lighting
Consultant: Robert Sowinski
Sound
Designer: Tom Pits
Dramaturg:
Raimondo Cortese
This surprising
piece has been written by Fleur Kilpatrick for one actor to play all characters. Actually Kilpatrick’s play displays the
perception and insight that leads one to think both main characters could be
played by either a female or male actor.
In this production
Roderick Cairns is a very commanding tour de force. He is quite mesmerizing and extraordinarily
convincing in both the two contrasting as well as the subsidiary roles. Androgyny can be so seductive!
Cairns’s
characterization is beautifully interpreted and managed and very skillfully
integrated into his body both physically and vocally. His character transformations are handled without
a missed beat.
As realized here Yours The Face is a very strong work
based on a narrative that travels, unfolds and surprises and has been extremely
competently managed by some outstanding theatre practitioners.
I don’t think it
is giving too much away to say that writer Fleur Kilpatrick explores the
relationship between a photographer and model that twists and turns. It is partly love story and partly sad
indictment of a glossy glamorous narcissistic world with many pitfalls.
The set, a
photographer’s studio is perfect and the lighting (Robert Sowinski) is used to
great effect changing mood and environment.
There is an unnecessary and way
to literal set change at towards the end - but this is a small consideration in
an otherwise excellent work.
If nudity is going
to offend definitely don’t buy a ticket to this one.
Suzanne Sandow
(For Stage Whispers)
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