Tag Archives: Peter Gill

“Something in the Air” at the Jermyn Street Theatre

Peter Gill’s short new play tackles big topics of old age and young love. It’s about the memories that remain with us and not all of them are happy ones. But magic comes despite – or maybe because of – the subject matter. This play is beautiful.

The two main characters, Colin and Alex, live together in a care home. Despite struggling when interacting with others they address the past with startling articulacy. Gill imagines minds that are active despite bodies struggling to communicate (listen out for another example). Examining “the state of memory” this is a depiction of old age that’s dignified. How rare is that? And it leads to strong performances from Ian Gelder and Christopher Godwin in the lead roles.

Claire-Price-in-Something-in-the-Air-at-Jermyn-Street-Theatre-credit-Steve-Gregson
Claire Price

The family that visits Colin and Alex can’t see, or imagine, the real state of their loved ones’ minds. A son and a niece, further fine performances from Andrew Woodall and Claire Price, get on with their lives, unaware that Colin and Alex are doing just the same. The roles provide us with backstory brilliantly. The characters condescend; they see Colin and Alex holding hands as a “small mercy” given the care homes other residents. But the older men aren’t asking for sympathy and are their own harsh critics.

Two younger men join the stage as well. Figures from the past, but not, as you might expect, younger versions of the main characters. These are two past affairs, failed ones at that, brought vividly to life by Sam Thorpe-Spinks and James Schofield. The scenario gives insight into gay life from long ago but doesn’t blame prejudice for everything that happened. The interwoven comments and reflections are romantic but also recriminatory. The delivery is aided by the sure direction of Gill himself alongside the talented Alice Hamilton.

If none of this strikes you as happy stuff…fair enough. Where’s the beauty I mentioned? How about the clarity of thought on offer in a play with two men losing track of so much. Gill doesn’t entertain melancholy or indulgence. Instead, there is detail to transport you into other lives and take you back in time. The descriptions of London of the late 50s and early 60s, with student instigators and hippies, are marvellous.

The precision is incredible, you can see and hear the scenes recounted yet without being overwhelmed by minutiae. And all to build a love story. Not that from the men’s youth but in the here and now. It’s not the kind of romance we usually see (especially between men). But Gelder and Godwin make the affection and support between the Colin and Alex moving and Gill’s play is a beautiful thing.

Until 12 November 2022

www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk

Photos by Steve Gregson

“Small Change” at the Omnibus Theatre

Peter Gill’s exceptional play isn’t easy. But, with the aid of this excellent revival from Both Barrels Theatre, it is an experience worth every effort. 

Even at its simplest Small Change is a play about memory as much as about the particular memories of a young man called Gerard. His life story shows us working-class Cardiff from the 1950s and 1970s that is interesting enough. But it is the telling of the tale that makes mind-blowing theatre.

Gill’s dense, poetic writing is beautiful, if demanding. This is a long play, but at times I wanted it to pause to appreciate the language more. As Gerard, Andy Rush’s delivery of the script – verse, really – is a marvel. The linguistic acrobatics are matched by a fantastic physicality to the whole production.

Gill’s subject is memory in general

As well as Gerard, we have his mother, his neighbour, her son Vincent, and their memories, too. Gill’s detail is so great – and the performances so good –that you might argue that the play is about any one of them.

Small-Change-at-the-Omnibus-Theatre
Sioned Jones and Tameka Mortimer

Certainly, Gerard’s relationship with his mother is extraordinary and leads to a magnificent performance from Sioned Jones. For all her frustrations about her “swine of a kid”, their closeness shines through. From supportive to claustrophobic, the changing dynamics are riveting. 

The next-door neighbour’s mental health problems are explored by Gill with sensitivity and depth: qualities reflected in the performance from Tameka Mortimer. Small Change‘s angle on the lives of working-class women is authentic and inspiring.

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Toby Gordon

Meanwhile Gerard’s best friend Vincent is as fully formed a character you could wish for. Toby Gordon’s wonderful depiction brings out a fascinating intelligence and independence. 

So maybe I’ve got it wrong? Small Change is about so much more that Gerard’s soul-searching reminiscences.  Because the memories recounted are brilliantly interwoven and seen from many angles. The life choices and trauma of each character are revealed from individual perspectives. 

The scraps of memories, conversations, observations (from different times of life) flow with dizzying speed. Wrongs and sufferings are circular as the give and take of personal relationships creates a web that’s powerful, but let’s be frank – hard to follow. Gerard is the vector of the “hard slog” of memory: working out the past and how it impacts the future isn’t easy for him or the audience.

“The hard slog”


Director George Richmond-Scott revels in the play’s complexity and his work is, as a result, bold and brave. It’s easy to imagine how static Small Change could be (it’s one of those plays that you want to read). But Richmond-Scott injects an energy into the production that matches the verse. Rush is eye-catching, but I became obsessed with the way Jones used her cardigan to show her character ageing. Wonderful stuff.

There’s guidance about what is going from Lex Kosanke’s excellent sound design. But it is the sculptural set from Liam Bunster that proves a revelation. The rust-coloured benches and a box look as if Donald Judd’s artwork has found a practical application. The set becomes a beach and a playground as well as a door or a window. Thanks to movement director Rachel Wise, it’s creatively negotiated around, jumped and balanced on, with images vivid enough to match the script. And, with this script, you can’t praise higher than that.

Until 2 October 2021

www.omnibus-clapham.org

Photos by Lidia Crisafulli

“The York Realist” at the Donmar Warehouse

The clue is in the title. Peter Gill’s romantic drama shows us a Yorkshire farming family, in the early 1960s, with daring verisimilitude. The love affair between a visiting theatre director, working on a production of the Mystery Plays, and a local amateur actor in his cast, opens up a time and place with startling particularity. Every lyrical line rings true – many will raise a smile, other are heart breaking – with a tone that is bravely quiet. It is in understanding this understatement that director Robert Hastie shows his appreciation and secures a superb revival for the piece.

The two well-written lead roles result in wonderful performances. Jonathan Bailey is the arty thespian, out of place in the countryside, carefully controlling the character’s urbane sophistication to make sure he is vulnerable and hugely likeable. Ben Batt is local farmer, George. It’s hard not to see him as heroic, a fantasy figure, so Batt does well to reveal depth: an amount of arrogance, some selfishness, a little fear behind the confidence all make him as intriguing as he is believable. The erotic tension between the men is palpable – this is a sexy play, and it’s remarkable to note we only see the two men touch once.

Being so low-key places particular demands on a cast. It’s an achievement from the whole ensembles to embrace the nuances in Gill’s writing, and conveying that restraint isn’t the same thing as repression. Lesley Nicol gives a stand-out performance as George’s mother, only hinting at her ill health in a fashion that strikes a chord with anyone who has had older relatives who are sick. The relationship with her son is a second love story in the play, equally rich in detail and resonance. And Lucy Black and Katie West give strong performances as two other women in George’s life, his sister and potential fiancée, both fully realised and offering yet more insight into the time and community.

The York Realist is a nostalgic piece, and whether this is good or bad is a matter of taste. Inspired by Gill’s own time working in York, a look back at his youth and a bygone age is bound to have a rosy tint. And there’s the period detail in Peter McKintosh’s meticulous set. Seeing the production at the Donmar (it transfers to Sheffield) the north-south divide often alluded too gets a few too many middle-class laughs. But the play itself is refreshingly free of condescension towards working-class life. There is a sense of calm that shows the steely determination in the writing: only one reference to the police indicates the illegality of the men’s acts, and George is comfortable with his sexuality so any angst is minimalised. What happens to the romance is sad, no doubt, as it’s the distance in class that separates them. But there’s little trace of the victim about either man, making the play an empowering, memorable pleasure.

Until 24 March 2018

www.donmarwarehouse.com

The production then transfers to Sheffield Theatres until the 7 April

Photo by Craig Fleming