Grotty - Review

Bunker Theatre, London

**

Written by Izzy Tennyson 

Directed by Hannah Hauer-King

Izzy Tennyson

Grotty is a dark, grimy, and vivid exploration of the subcultures of London's lesbian scene. Focused on the experiences of Rigby (played by Izzy Tennyson herself), a 22 year old intern at a TV company who also happens to be a drug addled psychotic, we learn that she has managed to get into a plethora of relationships with women that cover the spectrum of lesbian culture. 

Although the play makes for a confused ninety minutes it is not all bad. There is some lovely work from Grace Chilton as Witch, an emotionally and physically scarred dominatrix who delivers a beautiful stillness and vulnerability during a particularly harrowing moment. Anita-Joy Uwajeh as the wholly unlikable and over confident Natty, a self-proclaimed big wig who could pull strings and make anyone an undesirable, was an edgy and bold turn too. 

Anna Reid's set design is effective, proving sufficiently basic and pliable to transform itself from the the hazed shapes you'd just be able to discern in a dark club, into a vague flat, post hook-up.

There are some positives here, it is just difficult to understand what the narrative is trying to convey. To market the show as an exploration into lesbian London is a little disingenuous, the fact that Rigby and the other characters are lesbians proving to be irrelevant. It may well have been that when Tennyson set out to write the play, she intended it to open people’s eyes to lesbian culture. But in her finished work it seems that as the script developed, the ideas popping into to Tennyson's head (LGBT - rape - mental health - suicide - drugs - alcohol - death ) were baldly worked into the text so fleetingly that none of them stayed relevant for long enough to matter.

It is hard to sympathize with a protagonist who continuously complains about her life, grabbing at quick fixes to find validation and self worth and lamenting about having no control, yet refusing to take any. All that is left is a cocaine-riddled millennial, coasting through her narrative as a non-committal, self-centered drain on the people around her, "as long as they have nice flats."

The end result is a play about nothing in particular. Much like its lead character, Grotty tries to say so much but ultimately, says very little.

Runs until 26th May

Reviewed by Charlotte Darcy

Photo credit: The Other Richard

Devil With The Blue Dress - Review

The Bunker, London



***


Written by Kevin Armento 
Directed by Joshua McTaggart

Daniella Isaacs and Flora Montgomery

All too frequently, political scandals have the ingredients of a telenovela - heroes, villains, power, sex, blackmail and a healthy dose of the incredulous. Even more commonly, they are named for the men at their centre. That is, with the exception of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the namesake of which - in this dramatisation of the affair and its surrounding cause and effects – accuses Hillary Clinton, America’s First Lady and wife of the then US President Bill Clinton, of making sure that everyone knew Lewinsky’s name, in the hope of minimising the political damage to the Clinton moniker and ultimately, her career. 

There are two things of particular note. Firstly, in this interpretation, Hillary (Flora Montgomery) is placed firmly at the centre, simultaneously acting as a by-stander, a victim and a shrewd political operator and questions the real value of her gamble. Secondly, while this is an all-female play that explores the characters’ complexities through their relationships with the President and with each other, it misses the mark on its examination, arguably providing very few authentic insights into the way women really work. Alongside this, the audience will find it very difficult to dismiss a comparison with the current Administration and its extraordinary ability to swerve any blow of this dimension or potentially, even larger.

The setup is, in principle, very clever. Set in Hillary’s memories of that time, we see five characters expose their different relationships with Bill.  Four of them know him personally: the wife; daughter; mistress and the long-serving secretary, Betty. The fifth is an observer from a Republican standpoint but is revealed to be more than that as Lewinsky’s friend and confidante Linda Tripp. 

Bill makes regular appearances, with the actors playing Chelsea (Kristy Philipps), Betty (Dawn Hope) and Linda (Emma Handy) taking on this role in turn. They make a great cast who execute a fast-paced script very well. Monica (Daniella Isaacs) is magnetic but it is Philipps’ ability to flit between playing Chelsea and Bill with astonishing believability that makes for a standout performance. Special mention too to saxophonist Tashomi Balfour, who succeeds in amplifying the murky, seedy and fiery emotions played out on stage.

Devil With The Blue Dress promises a deconstruction of the societal response to women seeking power and the men that abuse their trust, but instead feels more like a commentary on the fallibility of people as witnesses. Is anyone’s testimony truly evidence? How much more weight is given to the hard evidence, such as titular blue dress?

While the play’s premise may be ambitious, it rarely manages to pack a punch. The source material and melodramatic tendencies are all there - indeed it comes across as a very well-researched piece - but it feels as though emphasis is being erroneously placed on the execution, rather than upon the story itself. 

Yet the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal - as this reviewer is now describing it - has a pressing relevance for today’s audience and with its talented cast, Devil With The Blue Dress will no doubt have a good run.

Runs until 28th April
Reviewed by Bhakti Gajjar
Photo credit: Helen Murray

31 Hours - Review

Bunker Theatre, London

****

Written by Kieran Knowles

Directed by Abigail Graham

The cast

Bleak statistics show that a person commits suicide on Britain’s rail network every 31 hours and, as we learn in the play, for every fatality there are another three people who attempt to take their own lives. That number is a sad reflection on our time and forms the fabric of Kieran Knowles’ new play. 

We meet the cast of 4 men, clad throughout in standard issue hi-viz railway working suits, who are a team from Network Rail’s Specialist Cleaning Branch. One might typically think of a job on the railways as being a train driver, or a guard or a signalman. These particular teams however attend the sites of fatal incidents on the railway, their responsibility being to remove the human remains from the tracks with a mixture of speed and dignity. 

The play covers grim but important material, with Knowles’ text shifting his cast from workplace banter through to stepping out of their jobs and taking on various external roles ranging from suicidal individuals, through to HR and customer service personnel who speak in their trained, depersonalized corporate voices and even to speaking the words of delayed passengers, expressing frustration at their journey having been held up due to an inconsiderate, "selfish" person who’s chosen to kill themselves in front of a train. Death and suicide in particular, is a multi-faceted event that Knowles cleverly explores.

At times there is an air of Hamlet to the dialogue. The bleak inevitability of death catches up with us all and the gallows humour of the undertaker or gravedigger has long proved fertile ground for writers. But 31 Hours goes further, in contemplating graphically (but only through detailed verbal narrative) both the different paths to suicide and indeed the different ways that people die on the tracks. 

This all makes for harsh and humbling theatre as amongst the characters we encounter are an embezzling lawyer who’s been found out and kills himself, whilst next to die is quite simply a charming old couple whose savings have evaporated and whose pensions are tawdry and who see death as a “tidy” solution to their problems. The tragedy here is desperate.

Abdul Salis, James Wallwork, Salvatore D’Aquilla and Jack Sutherland make up the on-stage quartet, with the action played out upon a flat space. Long wooden sleepers are moved throughout by the cast, suggesting at one moment a platform edge and at another, a bridge. And underfoot, spread across the stage, are the familiar stones of railway track ballast. These provide a convincing backdrop to the narrative along with a hauntingly crunching sound as the cast walk about on them.

Sensitively directed by Abigail Graham, 31 Hours may not offer any solutions, but does portray a vivid and compassionate insight into some of the darkest corners of mental illness and depression, alongside the consequences of suicide. It is finely crafted theatre.

Runs until 28th October

Photo credit: Lidia Crisafulli

Muted - Review

The Bunker, London

***

Music and Lyrics by Tim Prottey-Jones and Tori Allen-Martin

Book by Sarah Henley

Directed by Jamie Jackson

Tori Allen-Martin

It’s a brave ask that has any composers title their show Muted - a name that by its very nature suppresses aural beauty. In this new musical that has been a long time in development, we meet Michael a former rock singer, who has been left mute following the traumatic death of his mother. Lauren is his childhood sweetheart with a secret and the show seeks to explore the unlocking of Michael from his emotional devastation.

David Leopold plays the Michael of today, mute but expressive throughout while Edd Campbell Bird is the Teenage (and sweetly voiced) Michael, with both men convincing in challenging roles.

Tori Allen-Martin, who to her credit both co-writes and co-produces the show, is Lauren singing with a vocal magnificence that brings a rich texture to her character's pain. Likewise, Helen Hobson's Amanda, Michael's mum, is another excellent turn reminding us of Hobson's remarkable body of work.

The imagination behind the story is impressive and with a striking denouement too, but as an evening's entertainment, there's something missing. Back in the 1970s The Who visited a similar scenario of a boy profoundly damaged by trauma in their rock opera Tommy. That show's songs however were massive and more than filled the storyline's ambitious canvas. While Muted's onstage emotions are clearly huge, its songs fail to swoop and soar, leaving one witnessing what seems more like the staged version of a ballad-heavy concept album rather than a full blown musical. For reasons not clearly explained, Sarah Beaton has designed the whole affair around a sunken paddling pool. Whilst this no doubt has thematic intentions of deep significance, ultimately the shallow waters prove a distraction. Good actors should be able to show their emotions through voice and body, rather than petulant splashing. 

It is early days for the show and some of the sound needs balancing - likewise the lighting is at times too introspective, reducing the cast to barely visible silhouettes. Musically though Adam Gerber's band put in a fine shift throughout, including some gorgeous guitar work from Gus Isidore.

New writing is to be encouraged and for that, bravo to the trio of writers. But as a fully fleshed out musical, Muted has yet to find its voice.

Runs until 7th January 2017

Photo credit: Savannah Photographic