Vicki Galloway-Place went to see The Enough Project at Theatre in the Mill, Bradford, Thursday 13th June 2013, and asks …
‘What is Enough?’
As I sat in the auditorium alone, taking in the intimate setting of the Theatre in the Mill, I felt that I didn’t know enough about The Enough Project. Those who know me, know that I like to be prepared, to know my stuff, and it dawned on me I knew nothing about this project – nothing about the people involved, the writers, director or performers. It turned out this was enough.
The evening focused on two standalone performances, written by different playwrights, both directed by Alan Lane and both performed by the same small cast of four, produced by Dep Arts and developed under commission by the Theatre in the Mill. I had no idea what to expect.
The first performance,‘Something Right’ written by Cathy Crabb, invites us into the lives of a mother (Sarah), her two children (Maisie and Jake) and the laid-back, hippy character of Robin. When the play begins Jake played by Terence Rae is living with Robin, something his mother is none too happy about. As the play progresses, Maisie finds herself at Robin’s flat high on hallucinogenic drugs – It is this one action that seriously affects her mental state for years to come.
The storyline is simple enough and as an audience member you can pull out several underlying and more prominent themes – why do we take drugs? should we pay for education? is there an alternative to consumer capitalism? It is this simplicity that gives the piece an endearing quality. You can relate to the characters, their situations, their environment and their inner turmoil. You can surmise why Jake is crying as the blackout descends, and why Robin preys on the vulnerable even though no answers are given. We have seen these characters and heard these story-lines before. There is nothing new here in that respect. The difference is the way it is directed – the fast pace of the piece, so much is packed into 45 minutes. The innovative use of projection onto several screens, the timed face-time conversations between Jake on stage and a pre-recorded friend, and the loud dub-step played though the blackouts all add to the feeling that although we are not seeing a unique story played out, it certainly feels original and fresh because of the diverse uses of technology and the incorporation of on-trend tracks. It is refreshing to see theatre taking risks and the risks paying off.
I watched Something Right with a feeling of yes this is good, the actors are giving solid performances, but there isn’t a stand out Judy Dench or Tom Hardy in the making for me. The characters are clear, the strained relationships played well … Well done cast but you did nothing magical for me. That was until the same cast embarked on their second performance of the evening, the contrasting ‘Brimming’ written by local playwright Emma Adams.
For me, the testament to a truly gifted actor is their ability to play a variety of roles, moving between genres seamlessly, to play both comedy and tragedy well. How can I as a fellow actor and director make a solid judgement on one performance alone (as we so often do)? The Enough Project gave me the opportunity to see the four actors play two very different characters in two very different pieces, which totally and utterly allowed us to see that they were indeed an extremely talented cast.
‘Brimming’ began with a family meal – mum, dad, daughter and daughter’s new boyfriend meeting her parents for the first time. I felt that we were about to see something that I would compare to Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party. Long running tensions, mother pretending everything is fine, domineering father – you get the gist. Only this was far from Abigail’s Party, in fact this was far from anything I have ever seen before. If I were to choose a word to describe this piece it would be random – and I love Random!
Within the first couple of minutes Monica’s (the mother) gigantic wine glass was being topped up. Family arguments ensued over the background music of Barbra Streisand. Monica left and returned with a giant pavlova trying to push ahead with the meal, pretending that everything was fine. It is one of those moments that no matter how hard I try to convey the hilarity of the play – You really did have to be there.
As if that wasn’t enough, after daughter Anna slaps her boyfriend, Johnny, he finds himself twitching alone in what I think was the cellar. He twitches and turns his back to the audience to then face us with a lamb puppet on his arm! The voice of the puppet was Russell Richardson who was also playing Tony.
Russell voiced Lamb, Lauryn Redding (Anna) voiced Moth and Terence Rae (Johnny) voiced dad’s frog puppet. Genius! This ensemble cast switched effortlessly between their main characters and the voices of the puppets that were spoken through a hanging mic. Their characters could not have been more different from the ones they played in Something Right.
Again we were witness to common sub plots – family tensions and physical and mental abuse – but the combination of fantastic writing, great acting and a wide range of performance techniques made this play feel new and relevant. The use of puppetry to portray the characters inner emotions was fantastic, the moving stage, giant props and solid characterisations really made this a piece of cutting edge theatre that everyone should see.
It is only after watching both pieces that you can truly appreciate the talent of the actors, a small ensemble cast carrying two 45 minute plays – taking the audience on two very different journeys in two very different genres. Particular homage should be paid to Jo Mousley who was able to make the audience laugh one minute with her continually strained upbeat character of Monica and then feel her pain the next as she battled with her inner demon (or inner moth!) about the future of her marriage and the fate of her husband.
I loved the pace of both of these performances and I feel privileged to have seen these new diverse pieces of theatre. I don’t know if this would be every theatre goers cup of tea, certainly not if you are expecting Shakespearian tried and tested methods, but if you want something different, if you want to experience quirky new writing and directing, if you are a firm believer that as we move forward with time theatre should move forward too – then this is for you!
The Enough Project is moving on to The Lowry, Salford (Thurs 20th June – Sat 22nd June) and the Carriageworks, Leeds (Friday 28th and Saturday 29th June). Tickets are still available for those risk taking theatre appreciators.