|
Pains Plough in association with Oval House Theatre House of Agnes
Cecilia Noble in House of Agnes
by Levi David Addai Directed by George Perrin
Oval House Theatre
4-29 March, 2008
ta
A review by Jennifer Muteteli for EXTRA! EXTRA!
I step into Agnes’ home, it is summer time, and we are assured of this as the anthemic 90’s hit by Fresh Prince fills the living room; an enjoyable theme of memorable pop music continues throughout. This is the second play by Levi David Addai; his first, 93.2 FM was staged at the Royal Court Theatre in 2006. The drama is set in the front room of a three bedroom family home in London. There is a floral printed lounge suite, illuminated childhood photographs, full length lamps and an immaculate white carpet which we must not stand on! The furniture is shared generously through the centre of the studio space at the Oval House; creating an interactive set, by Hannah Clark, which places us on the front line of a domestic drama. Likeable Agnes, Cecilia Noble, is from Ghana, a proud queen that rules her palace with a critical eye, and she deserves to, she conceived, built and maintains her home, her family, and as for those that dare to enter, beware. Like a protective canine she will out smart, out shout and even out stay her welcome, albeit in her own home. But in all honesty we want Agnes to stay, because we know she will out love us all, with the love that only, it seems a mother, or in this case, a matriarch can posses. Her youngest, her baby boy Caleb, played by Anwar Lynch, is an ambitious graduate holding down his first job in the city. Her first, Solomon, Ludvig Bonin, is jobless, penniless and in Agnes’ eyes, senseless, specifically due to his choice of “courtesans.” Agnes shudders to even acknowledge Solomon’s “suitably attractive” guest as his girlfriend, who still has time to find somebody else, anyone but her king. The writing does not reveal Agnes’ dislike of her son’s ‘spouses’, there is a seemingly obvious subtext, though hopes of more still linger. We are witness to the conflict between two twenty-first century brothers as they grow apart. They share little, aside from a nurtured respect for Agnes, a fist of memories and a lack of male guidance, which, it turns out, is enough to grow from being boys to men under a shared roof. Are we able to identify with the lives being led on stage? In this case it appears so, regardless of ethnicity. We all come from a family, but whether we belong to a family is a separate issue. Levi has not ventured down the path less penned; we are on familiar ground, a family with a lesson to learn and perhaps for this production we will all be students of the intricacies involved in the survival of a family. The warm comedy and moments of tenderness, paired with knowing, in this case, an African mother and insights into contemporary society save this from being a typical kitchen sink drama. The advantages of live theatre over televised drama are the liveliness, and the presence which we are a part of, which helps to build and shape the tension. We laugh, gasp, clap and relish in the homely atmosphere of mum’s front room, and is there a more fitting location to conduct an ode to the ceaseless task of motherhood? Addai did his job as an artist; he left me thinking, questioning, wondering why. Sibling rivalry is a dual that will continue to the death, or when a suitable level of maturity is gained. In Agnes’ house we may consider rivalry as opposition, a tool to see the other, side, reverse, unknown part of you, which in fact is me, a part of the micro self and macro whole. During the post show discussion the words of T.S Elliot were recited: The enthusiastic actors played house, a universal childhood game, with a specific nucleus, to get to know ourselves, by getting to know others, be they kith or kin. This was an entertaining piece of theatre; the vivacity of the actors brought the soap opera style dialogue to life and succeeded in engaging us as an audience and to consider the value of our own family, and our own role, as children, playing adults, which we do when we know mum will always be there. Levi achieved his effort to “…tell my story and that’s that.”
Box office 020 7582 7680 Tickets £12 / 6 pounds Oval House Theatre Kennington Oval, London SE11
Copyright © EXTRA! EXTRA All rights reserved
|
uzens