By TheatreVillage 
1
0
The stage was the first thing that audience members cast their eyes upon as you sat at your seat; dark, desolate and grey. It did not inspire hope, it was not going to be a happy-chilled type of production.
Dialogue from the onset of the production was full of profanity, I only saw one couple leave their seats during 1st half, however there had been warnings on the website that the production did contain a series of adult themes.
This production was performed by young rep theatre players of Birmingham Rep, and their youthless energy was apparent in this production.
I was trying alongside other audience members to work out the roles of each character and their story and some more were more easy to work out than others.
The 1st half of the production was a bit weaker than the 2nd half in terms of story, as it was introducing the characters more, whereas the 2nd half built on the character’s and their stories and had more action.
A modern youthful musical soundtrack accompanied this production and some lyrics fitted well into the scenes.
This production is part of the Order and Chaos festival running at the Birmingham Rep until the 22nd July. A series of productions with over 21 shows.
The dialogue used by each character was interesting and on occasions used closed questioning to get points across.
The character Nessa’s ‘no’ to untoward advances from Darren was used to good effect.
The festival programme does not list which actors played which particular parts so I will have to rely on memory and also the characters.
I was particularly impressed by the character portrayal of Ella, Louise, Alex, Megan, Darren and my favourite- Lexi. The actor who played Lexi played a very convincing character and her mannerisms and portrayal was superb.
I am particularly fond of Youth Theatre as it is where I developed my love of theatre and quite possibly these actors could be the next professional actors you will see on stages up and down the country in the future.
This festival is only on for a limited time- This Saturday, so please go out and support them.
The company who produced this show should be very proud of themselves, the story and character’s narratives were emotional at times. One particular scene whereby rubbish was discarded and boxes destroyed, symbolised for me the destructive forces at work.
We sometimes overlook other people’s lives because we are too engrossed in our own but just a helping hand or intervention can change someone’s life for the better. The play was about the impact of prison on women, but for women to be incarcerated must mean there has been societal failings too. I think we should look out for one another and help where we can.
Congratulations to all the company and the performances they gave.
What’s on | Birmingham Rep (birmingham-rep.co.uk)
