Posted by: Iain Fisher
« on: October 14, 2010, 12:32:10 AM »Another good production.
The play is set in a cellar (the Under Room) so rather than the performance taking place in the theatre above the pub, it appropriately took place in the pub's cellar. To get there the audience first had to go UP stairs, then along, then down lots of stairs to the cellar. Warm, noisy and full of clutter, so a perfect atmospheric venue for the play.
Three actors, one of whom is the voice for a dummy which is used as a character with the actors talking to the dummy not the actor. Some minor staging irritations- you can decide to show the actor playing the voice, or not show the actor, but you shouldn't make him visible to half the audience and hidden from the other half. But otherwise the design (Katie Bellman) and direction (Hamish MacDougall) were at the high level of all the plays in the series so far.
The play is powerful- late Bond but one of his best with rich, tight dialogue- I think it was updated from the printed version but I may be wrong. A political play which doesn't preach.
Donnla Hughes' performance slides from fragile sensibility down to raging psychotic anger. Her calm in the early scenes makes her violence more unexpected and terrible, both for what she does, and for the state she is left in. Her fury was disturbing, perfect for the role.
Once again, highly recommended.
The play is set in a cellar (the Under Room) so rather than the performance taking place in the theatre above the pub, it appropriately took place in the pub's cellar. To get there the audience first had to go UP stairs, then along, then down lots of stairs to the cellar. Warm, noisy and full of clutter, so a perfect atmospheric venue for the play.
Three actors, one of whom is the voice for a dummy which is used as a character with the actors talking to the dummy not the actor. Some minor staging irritations- you can decide to show the actor playing the voice, or not show the actor, but you shouldn't make him visible to half the audience and hidden from the other half. But otherwise the design (Katie Bellman) and direction (Hamish MacDougall) were at the high level of all the plays in the series so far.
The play is powerful- late Bond but one of his best with rich, tight dialogue- I think it was updated from the printed version but I may be wrong. A political play which doesn't preach.
Donnla Hughes' performance slides from fragile sensibility down to raging psychotic anger. Her calm in the early scenes makes her violence more unexpected and terrible, both for what she does, and for the state she is left in. Her fury was disturbing, perfect for the role.
Once again, highly recommended.