Tag Archives: The Vaults

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“Jade City” at the Vault Festival

Alice Malseed’s commendable play affords a glimpse at white working-class men in Northern Ireland. It is a poetic affair that explores the dreams of two lost adults, childhood friends whose reminiscences repeatedly turn nightmarish. The games that they play, self-conscious fantasies that boredom drives them to shape together, are so obviously infantile that they add a degree of bitter humour. The neat device of role-playing enforces the prevailing tone of frustration and desperation.

These men’s lives are monotone. While lacking a mention of The Troubles, the details of poverty and boredom in a northern industrial town are checked off by rote. The men’s efforts at escapism and attitudes, particularly to drink, make for a pretty standard riff on toxic masculinity. Take the way emotions are bottled up, or that their youth is characterised by delusions of grandeur (they were once “kings”) – it’s a touch too predictable, even if depressingly accurate. And the piece lacks insight into their agency. It’s a long way into the action before accountability is raised. Thankfully, several factors elevate the slim and underexplored content. Firstly, bold imagery from Malseed, along with the structure of her play: a risky back and forth in time and reality that pays off and commands interest.

Matching an adventurous streak in the script is a strong production directed by Katherine Nesbitt. The pace is ferocious, there are moments when a pause would be welcome but the virility of the writing hardly allows this. My attendance was at a relaxed performance of the show, which makes comment on the lighting and sound design (from Timothy Kelly and Michael Mormecha) inappropriate – but intensity is never lacking. Staged around a boxing ring, a threat of violence seldom leaves the room. The two performers, Barry Calvert and Brendan Quinn, both throw themselves into the roles and grasp every moment of drama. The competitive dynamics of their relationship, the slow revelation of a tragedy that changed them both, crackles with tension. The performances, and Malseed’s poetic ear, make this a show that sounds great but perhaps says too little.

Until 10 February 2019

www.vaultfestival.com

Photo by Steve Gregson

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“The Good Landlord”at the Vault Festival

Crammed to capacity with topicality, this sharp comedy full of serious concerns makes a smart debut show for Metamorph Theatre. It’s the story of two generation renters offered a cheap deal on a flat with a view of Big Ben. The catch is that their new home is full of security cameras. Hilarity and debate follow as Tom and Ed cope, in very different ways, with a live feed to the apartment’s eponymous owner.

Phoebe Batteson-Brown

Driving the show’s comedy is a great performance by Phoebe Batteson-Brown. Playing the brilliant role of an estate agent, there’s a fantastic mix of corporate double-think that plays with being believable and is delivered with deliciously manic touches. There’s a good part, too, for Tiwalade Ibirogba-Olulode as a secretary who sneaks a look at, and falls for, one of the flat’s spied-on occupiers.  A more understated performance makes for a useful contrast and means Ibirogba-Olulode anchors the play.

Tiwalade Ibirogba Olulode

As our heroes, the carefully – and creepily – selected tenants, both Maximillian Davey and Rupert Sadler do a good job of conveying a host of big issues with a light touch. Alongside considerations of technology and privacy, which have a nifty parallel to Ed’s obsession with spies (Sadler delivers this adorably), there’s queasy voyeurism and a consideration of body issues. The hang-ups Davey’s Tom is so quickly labelled with are carefully left open in a sensitive portrayal. Sadler’s strategy is different. He goes all out for comedy with Ed’s toe-curling exhibitionism. This works – he gets the laughs – but it’s testament to the writing that Ed could clearly be a more desperate and edgy character. 

As well as effective work with her cast, director Cat Robey deserves applause for her strong staging of the show in the round, which cleverly conjures up the idea of a panopticon. It’s nobody’s fault that the venue is so far from the des-res. the action takes place in, but it does jar. Maybe some really good landlord would allow an immersive production in a penthouse development still for sale? Given the satire here, probably not! Robey’s direction shows a firm eye for detail and an admirable appreciation of the text.

The script itself is a painful one to critique as its author died so suddenly and so recently. The Good Landlord started as a devised piece that Michael Ross wrote after workshops with the company and it feels that some work remains to be done. Ross was not available for final rehearsals, and it is distressing to wonder about last-minute changes he might have made. As it stands, the play is a little too compact and bijou – scenes need unpacking and developing. But the comedy is great, the dialogue superb. And there are fascinating ideas – the guys as “products” for a voyeuristic project, or “ornaments” for the flat – that are sure to linger. Despite its many merits, there’s a sense of mortgage rather than completion with The Good Landlord. It’s with hope, best wishes, and some confidence given the clear talent here, that this new company moves up the theatre ladder to even bigger things.

Until 10 February 2019

www.vaultfestival.com

Photos by Ali Wright

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“Thomas” at the Vault Festival

There are laudable aims and a strong idea behind Snapper Theatre’s new production – together they make for a good start. Written by Robbie Curran, who also takes the title role, the play’s hero has Asperger’s and the piece does well to represent his experience and challenge preconceptions. The clever addition is to parallel his youth with that of his cousin, David, played by Ben Lydon, and include the latter’s mental health in the story. Tackling prejudice about Asperger’s is sometimes crudely forceful and the second plot is underworked, but this is strong debut play with plenty of promise for development.

Problems arise with flashbacks to the characters’ childhoods. It’s not just that there are too many of these, but that they are too short. And it’s too easy to imagine lines whittled away to bring the running time to just under an hour. The direction from Lucy Foster could provide more support, while Grace Cronin’s movement work feels out of place. The play ends up disjointed and at times confusing.

The desire to form a connection between the audience and Thomas, to show he is ‘normal’, might excuse how predictable many of the scenes are. But the performances also end up stilted and contain few surprises. The boys’ humour doesn’t develop as they grow into men. This might be depressingly accurate but doesn’t help establish their ages from scene to scene. There are no reservations, however, for the third cast member, Amanda Shodeko who does a great job with several smaller roles: supremely comfortable on stage and eminently watchable, it’s always a thrill to see a performer in a small show who you are sure will go far.

Ben Lydon and Amanda Shodeko

Lydon is strongest as the version of David who is struggling at university. The growing sense that he no longer has to look after his friend is just one factor that leaves Thomas feeling lost. There’s mention of a sick father, troubles with course and career, but none of this is explored. Lydon is left to save what is really half the show, which he works hard to do.

Frustratingly, the structure is set up and sound, with a conclusion at a childhood home that’s a nice reflection of an earlier incident. It’s a shame more time isn’t allowed to bring the show to a satisfying finish.

Until 27 January 2019

www.vaultfestival.com

Photos by Tyrone Lewis

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“Blue Departed” at the Vault Festival

The smell of weed and spray paint and a walk down Leake Street mean it must be time for this year’s always-bigger-than-ever arts extravaganza under Waterloo Station. Yesterday was opening night no less for the start of eight weeks of events. With more than 400 shows to come, any single offering couldn’t be representative of the fare on offer, but the Anima Theatre Company’s show embodies my experience of previous years, both for good and ill. The Vault Festival is a great place for exciting new writing that isn’t afraid of taking risks that don’t always pay off.

There are plenty of ideas behind Serafina Cusack’s take on Dante’s Inferno. And that’s impressive. The show asks us to imagine Dante as a heroin addict and his (dead) Beatrice haunting him. But if you don’t know that before you go in you’ll be pretty lost. It is a good idea, testament to the potential here, as we descend into a hell that might be grief or cold turkey. But there’s a sense of trying too hard to be relevant and, dare I say it, trying to shock. Does Beatrice, also an addict, really have to be pregnant?

That same sense of trying too hard fills the production. The direction from Henry C Krempels feels manic, which works some of the time, but the show needs slowing down. The energy involved may be admirable but is also a little exhausting. The sound design is intrusive, although that might have been an attempt to compensate for noise emanating from the show next door, which is a problem throughout the venue. Cusack’s script has its moments, and is certainly stylish, but suffers from too many nonsensical touches; there’s a reference to the smell of an artery that made me stumble – who knows what one of those smells like?

The three consciously odd characters are difficult company, if well performed. The get-out clause is that what we see is a drug-induced haze, and Cusack’s play on time and hallucinations is great stuff. Mark Conway takes the lead role and does well with bringing out the piece’s considerable wit – Cusack’s comedy is another strength. But the two other characters (‘her’ and ‘his brother’) are, respectively, unbelievable and thinly written. That said, Rebecca Layoo and Richard James Clarke offer strong support and should be proud of their performances.

Creating characters who come close to being merely devices – and using a concept in the place of a plot – isn’t to everyone’s taste. Both can make a piece strangely cold and hard to engage with. A firmer criticism is that this show isn’t clear about what it wants to do. Tell us about mourning? Or addiction? Both, presumably, but that proves too much for a short show and the insights here are limited. Blue Departed fails to convince, but the experiment is admirable and effort valiant.

Until 27 January 2019

www.vaultfestival.com

Photo by Lidia Crisafulli

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“Work makes you Free” at the Vault Festival

This is an exceptional piece of writing from Michael Ross. Four characters deliver interweaving monologues about their working lives, creating intelligent, stimulating drama, brimming with a satire that’s very, very funny.

The four different jobs mean everyone in the audience can quickly identify with a character. There’s a high-flying MP and a wealthy banker who live for their work. Their grasping ambition and thoughtless cynicism are expertly depicted by Nicholas Stafford and Emily Bates. Next is an aspiring singer-songwriter called Kirsty, who works in a Job Centre – a role Miranda Evans makes easily recognisable. And finally there’s an actress (sorry, ‘Theatre Practitioner’), who’s happy on the dole while she works on what she really loves. We’ve all seen her type having coffee at the Young Vic and Laura Pieters tackles the part superbly. So there’s material aplenty for lots of laughs and all is well delivered. But what impresses most is Ross’s even hand: nobody escapes his wit, and you may find your allegiances shift from the character you originally warmed to.

The play is perfectly formed, which is not to say it’s easy to deliver. Director James McKendrick juggles the ideas and the action expertly. He injects the energy a show of talking heads needs, mostly via lighting design and, while there are a couple of stumbles due to the fast pace, McKendrick is right to keep the speed vigorous. Arguably, the play’s dark humour isn’t fully plumbed with the role of Kirsty – the break-up with her boyfriend is potentially comic – but all four performers do justice to the complex rhythm of the piece.

There’s a fifth job to consider – that of the playwright. A delightful twist, playing with meta-theatricality, confirms Ross’s mastery. Connections between characters form cleverly revealed plot points, with topical content on trolling and mental health, and a lot of broken dreams that make the play quietly moving. Alongside all the fun, this is a political play of great maturity. There’s a fiery anger at the stupidity and hypocrisy of shaping our identity around what we do, provoking thoughts that labour away long after the work on stage is over.

Until 25 February 2018

www.vaultfestival.com

Photo by Robert Piwko

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“NeverLand” at the Vault Festival

This new immersive musical uses the story of Peter Pan and the world of its author J M Barrie for an exploration of childhood and militarism. The psychological outskirts of this famous work of children’s fiction are fertile ground: John Logan’s play Peter and Alice took us forward in time well after the book’s publication, and Hollywood had a go at ploughing the subject with Finding Neverland. Here, though, too much background is taken for granted and the narrative presented is difficult to follow. Focusing on World War I and trauma in Barrie’s life makes for some moving moments but the show, presented by The Guild of Misrule and Theatre Deli, is full of frustrating flaws.

First, the immersive aspect. And an admission of some prejudice on my part – the opinion that many shows with this label benefit little from the technique. Here, real fans of the genre won’t be impressed – the audience is moved around, danced with, made to pass notes, and say a couple of lines but each attempt to include them is poorly employed. Spaces are separated too flimsily – noise travels through curtains – and becomes distracting. There’s a lack of guidance, of direction, that credits a crowd with too much. There may be a good play here but it becomes hard to tell what’s going on.

The actor-musicians run around a little too frantically and declaim rather too sincerely. When playing children, most of the performers allow a clichéd Victoriana to get in their way. And when the show becomes adult (a little swearing and an attempt at sexiness), it does so in a childish manner. All in all, there’s a sense of hyperactive youngsters few would wish to spend time with, while any of the insight Barrie’s fiction has into childhood is difficult to discern. There are also problems with projection – the venue doesn’t help – the notable exception being Dominic Allen as Barrie, who deals well with an interminable monologue towards the end of the show where ideas that presumably justify some of what we have seen are crammed in.

Ostensibly a musical, the chaotic treatment fails the songs by Gavin Whitworth. There’s a mix of styles, I can tell you that much, and some of them are interesting if anachronistic. Lucie Treacher has a fine voice and, had there been a stage for him to perform on, I am sure Tom Figgins has plenty of presence (his own music is worth checking out). But too many of the songs are interrupted by action elsewhere and the performers do not hold the attention of the audience. The score becomes a background soundtrack that’s difficult to assess, and the whole thing is just too much of a mess.

Until 18 March 2018

www.vaultfestival.com

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“Miss Nightingale” at The Vaults

Previous incarnations of Matthew Bugg’s musical, set in wartime London, have already received acclaim and this hard-working show deserves its extended run in the capital. With a spirit of utility, the tried and tested device of a cabaret interspersed with behind-the-scenes action is employed with good songs and an affecting story.

There’s a slightly confusing mix of musical styles, but Bugg’s compositions are impressive. Pastiche music-hall numbers, catapulting the show’s titular star to fame, have a nice line in naughty. That one of them is called ‘The Sausage Song’ probably reveals enough. Can you have too many soldiers standing to attention jokes? Probably, but I smirked from ear to ear anyway.

The comedy numbers are aided by a sterling performance by the multi-talented Tamar Broadbent. She gets a lot out of the innuendo with some drag king touches thrown in. The role is stock “formidable” Northerner, and yet Broadbent makes this Miss a hit – think Sally Bowles from Sheffield. It’s easily worth sitting through an air raid just to watch her.

Other music is more adventurous, with gambles that don’t always pay off. There’s a “bit of Berlin” from song-writing émigré George and numbers that reflect the drama of his relationship with the impresario promoting Miss Nightingale, Sir Frank Worthington-Blythe. The men’s love story get equal billing with our on-stage star (connections are intimate in several ways) – for Bugg provides plenty of story to accompany the songs.

Nicholas Coutu-Langmead & Conor O'Kane
Nicholas Coutu-Langmead & Conor O’Kane

Emotional impact comes from the romance – a story of gay cruising in the blackout and blackmail threats that are heavy on history. Conor O’Kane has a tough job as George, since the role has hysterical touches and isn’t free of stereotyping. Nicholas Coutu-Langmead is appropriately “dashing” as posh war hero Frank, a much fuller character who struggles with his sexuality (not one but two good numbers here) and is especially impressive when angry. Both men sound good, and a bold duet – ‘Waiting’ – is a third highlight.

The plot has holes, several around the villain of the piece, ably performed by Niall Kerrigan who needs a solo number added ( and, given Buggs’ talents I’d guess one exists and has been cut). Another issue is that while the songs are great the score doesn’t coalesce into something bigger. The tension between its central character and gay love story isn’t squared satisfactorily. But that’s also the charm of the piece – the messy ménage-a-trois here is satisfyingly complex and shouts its modern sensibility proudly.

Until 20 May 2017

www.missnightingale.co.uk

Photos by Robert Workman

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“A Haunting” at the Vault Festival

There’s a great starting point for Nathan Lucky Wood’s play. A young boy’s online discussion with an older man quickly includes sexual content and turns out to be even creepier than we imagine. With brilliant twists too good to spoil, Wood explores current concerns about the internet in an original and unsettling way. It’s challenging and uncomfortable, as well as providing a great role for Roly Botha as a teenager running a gamut of emotions: he’s smart enough to see he is being blackmailed, but not entirely unwilling to meet his “friend” in the woods.

The scenes with Botha onstage alone are gripping, so it is a shame the play falls off so quickly. The actions of the boy’s mother (Izabella Urbanowicz), who we’ve already seen in a couple of short and unconvincing scenes, beggar belief. The meeting with our online villain has potential, and director Jennifer Davis adds some nice touches, while Jake Curran works well in the role. But encounters between all three characters strain credulity further and a disappointing final scene only emphasises how much the steam has run out. After such a promising start, it’s disappointing, as Wood can clearly do so much more.

Until 19 February 2017

www.vaultfestival.com

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“This Must Be The Place” at the Vault Festival

I’ve waited a while to see another play by Brad Birch, and this piece, co-written with Kenneth Emson and presented by Poleroid Theatre, shows a writing team with strong ears, observant eyes and independent minds. Firmly rooted in the experience of young lives today, this story of family and friendship is full of recognisable stuff, even if most of us would fail to articulate it with such style.

Two couples, linked by the theme of home, weave a poetic dialogue full of wit. There are laughs, but a sense of anxiety is always present. Technology and the “shared, liked, commented on” of social media becomes a pressuring mantra. The everyman here, Adam, debates having a child with his girlfriend and tackles the legacy of an estranged father. Meanwhile, two friends, endearingly hapless desperadoes, are on the move to London. All four roles are well acted. James Cooney and Molly Roberts play struggling lovers: distant from one another in more ways than one, yet still emotionally attached. Feliks Mathur and Hamish Rush play mates with a fantastic chemistry – surely aided by both being recent graduates from the same college – and top-notch banter.

This Must Be The Place isn’t making revelatory statements. If you’re not on Facebook, after a feeling of smug self-righteousness, the relief you feel will only confirm a lot that’s expressed here. Barbs against hipsters, well, who is going to argue with that? Modern angst isn’t that original a topic and the sources Birch and Emson point towards are no surprise. But it’s all presented very well indeed, using the language of tech and a dissonance with “actual life” brilliantly. Writing this lyrical easily carries the show.

Until 12 February 2017

www.vaultfestival.com

Photo by Mathew Foster

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“Worlds” at the Vault Festival

A set of strangers together in an isolated guest house might normally be associated with a murder mystery story, and there are puzzles in Martin Murphy’s new play, which he also directs. But his series of intimate glimpses into multiple lives is gentler than even a Miss Marple. Storytelling seem to be the purpose here – fair enough – but, while scenes are set up and acted well, they don’t develop far.

The odd building, converted into a hotel, is said to have had “many guises”. There’s a mish-mash of visitors, including a middle-aged couple having an affair and two youngsters starting a family, and a few too many metaphors to allow a comfortable stay. Themes of union and dissolution almost manage to link the stories but they’re a bit too open. And there’s a Brexit analogy that strikes a very odd note. The vignettes each have potential, but presenting only tasters is quite unsatisfying. It’s a tribute to the several characters that you want to see more and, as a way of showing Murphy’s versatility, the play succeeds.

Two actors, taking on all the roles, with just minimal costume changes, are impressive. Andrew Macklin’s popstar character is a hit and he has a good go at playing a young boy with cancer. Naomi Sheldon’s swaps include an intriguing dominatrix and a nice delineation of two older characters: a grandmother and the adorable landlady Briony. It’s these “many guises” that really drive the play.

Until 29 January 2017

www.vaultfestival.com