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Box of Tricks
Word: Play 2
Theatre 503
A review by Alan Taylor for EXTRA! EXTRA!
Word Play 2 is a night that supports new writing, showcasing 6 short plays from new British writers. Based at Battersea’s Theatre 503, the plays are a mixed bag of goodies. We’re first presented with Captain of the School Football Team by Kenneth Emson. The language has a delicious rhythmic quality, depicting school life and sincere tragedy. Well paced, it is very slick and satisfying with Philip Correia posing self assured confidence as the Captain. However, it does seem to cascade towards a conclusion that is unexpected and slightly melodramatic. But Emson encapsulates the spirit by hitting us with the hammer and impact of a short and putting it all in the first fifteen minutes. The Surety of Numbers by Daniel Kanaber is more ambiguous and insinuates on a relationship between two men who knew each other at school. Intriguing, but the characters needed just a tiny bit more revelation to give it that extra something. Nonetheless, his intention to make it fairly vague works well and he touches his point without labouring it. What Cheryl Did Next by Leo Richardson is naturally witty and seems effortless. In contrast to his more recent offering Sh*t M*x, Richardson surpasses himself this time by capturing a reality that’s just slightly surreal enough to get away with it. Based in a beauty salon, Cheryl plans on escaping to Malaga to be a holiday rep after breaking up with her boyfriend. Hilarious performances from Rhoda Ofori-Attah and Alice Haig, making an engaging and empowering short. Elinor Cook offers us Greek Tragedy- three girls, one Greek island… And unfortunately only one man to boot. Sensible friend Molly played by Natalie Ball is understated here- Natalie’s performance makes me want to know more about this character who isn’t quite as developed on as the other two. Funny, and a reminder of how different people fall in love in different ways and how we are all exactly the same in revenge. Becky Prestwich’s Chopping Onions is the most touching and intimate short. Esther loses her speech after a stroke and attempts to reassert her presence in the household through the kitchen and cooking. Intense in its familiarity and centre on the familial, it really plays on the heart strings. Beryl King is the perfect choice as Esther, with an instantly loveable face and demeanour. By the time the short was over, I turned to my right to see that the person next to me was crying, and there was not a more valid response to this moving piece. Finishing off with Fish Missing, Joe Harbot states in the program that “he is currently finding writing very difficult.” Well, Joe, I know where you’re coming from- you may find it difficult, but it’s probably exactly this that has made Fish Missing so clever, hilarious, tense, absurd and awkward. When a fish goes missing in the house, Steph suspects her boyfriend Daniel may be up to no good, only to find out that it is much, much worse. Harbot has a style that gives enough, but holds back and has enough surprises to keep it entertaining. Word: Play is actually one of the best collection of shorts I have seen in a long while- each one of these plays is so excellent and the best thing about all of them is that they don’t leave you feeling unsatisfied or that the issue hasn’t been fully explored. Neat little packages that do the job and leave you feeling elevated, this night will give you plenty to talk about in the post-theatre dissection with your friends in the pub later.
Word: Play is playing till the 22nd of November
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