Director: Ben Kidd

June 15th – June 29th 09

A review by Jafar Iqbal for EXTRA! EXTRA!

Theatre has always had the power to make us emote. It could be a second-floor apartment in Sydney or a lone ship roaming through space, actors on stage can pull the heartstrings if they try hard enough. Laugh, cry, hate, love; they’ve all passed through the theatres and the audiences since the beginning. Arguably though, it is tragedy that speaks most to us. Just like the bizarre satisfaction we have in seeing a celebrity fall from grace, we gravitate towards the pains and difficulties of others’ lives. After all, what is story without conflict? And what is conflict without hardships?

Conveniently, hardships are probably place to start talking about this production of Nick Ward’s Apart From George, as the play is full of them. Set in the present day near Cambridgeshire, this is the story of one family’s struggle with poverty in the face of redundancy. The play is centred around our anti-hero George (played by Michael Brogan), the man unable to cope as he is let go from his job. No longer the bread-winner in the house, he struggles with not only his duties as husband and father, but also his inability to find work and money. Relationships are strained with his wife and daughter, and attempts to find solace in the church also prove fruitless.

What sets this apart from other plays is its clever use of juxtaposition. Characters talk freely to the audience in very well written monologues, with barely any words spoken amongst one another. George is only able to express himself through bursts of aggression, his wife Pam (Nicola Harrison) has learnt to suppress her feelings, and daughter Linda (Amy Loughton) has stopped caring. This lack of communication is compelling to watch, as we learn to concentrate on the eyes, the expressions, the body language – a minute-long scene where Linda watches in silence as her father puts on his shoes to leave the house is simple, yet effective.

It is a little unfortunate to see, then, that other instances in the play were not given the same level of treatment, resulting in their understatement. John Grey, George’s old boss and Pam’s new boss (played by Michael Irving, who also plays the vicar) watches on as Pam scrubs his kitchen floor. The sexual undertones are there to see, but seem not to be explored well enough and the significance of these actions is lost.

Of the actors, Amy Loughton is by far the highlight. Due to the quite miserable nature of the play, attempts at humour by the other characters are either lost or ignored. She depicts the role of the troubled daughter so well, though, that all her humour shines through; and similarly, she steps up to the mark with her more dark instances, easily on par with her counterparts. The rest of the cast is also great, Brogan doing an admirable job of carrying the play on his shoulders and the others following suit with powerful performances.

The decision to use a set that wasn’t theirs for the production was an odd one, as it definitely didn’t seem to fit the style of the play. The play was written and directed with such harsh brutality that moving props around and hanging them on hooks until needed seemed contradictory. However, the inclusion of a live violinist moving around the stage with the characters, literally the only source of music in the play, was fantastic. Again, it didn’t seem to fit the style of the play, but it was an interesting touch nonetheless.

This is by no means an easy play to direct or act in. It is safe to argue that it’s a very miserable play, with very rare moments of humour or happiness. The play gets sadder with each scene, and it is a testament to the cast that they can maintain the level of intensity required. It does have its faults, yes, but the performances overshadow them. A harsh portrayal of life in the Fenlands, this is worth a watch.

£13 (£10 concessions)

14th – 29th June – 7.30pm

The Finborough Theatre, 118 Finborough Road, London, SW10 9ED

http://www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk

Box Office: 0844 847 1652

Home Reviewers