Starting its run in this year's Not Part Of festival seems apt given Rob Johnston's newest piece's exploration of conformity, control and the place of the individual, with everyone trying to be a part of something for reason they struggle to explain themselves. This three-piece drama manages to keep the laughter coming whilst dealing with serious matters such as terrorism and the unregluated punishment dealt out by an unexplained dystopia, the audience getting only hints as to the state's fascist leanings in the face of those suffering under its yoke.
The focus of the piece falls on stoic prisoner Alex (a well-cast Andrew Roberts-Palmer) and his resistance to the interrogations forced on him by the faceless government, opening with a reluctant dialogue with cocky fellow prisoner Billy. The energy of actor James Jowett makes Billy's teasing attemts to draw an uncomfortable dialogue from the tightly-lipped Alex a fast-paced and highly amusing introduction to the characters, helped along by the quick changes and movement on a minimal set that only adds to the scenes's sense of containment. Forced though most of the conversations may be - there's always a unwanted question waiting to be answered on stage - the natural dialogue is filled with banter, mainly in part to the chirpier nature of Billy facing the immovably sobre natures of Alex, Chris and Ellie, with Susi Wrenshaw's portrayal of both Alex's now-deceased girlfriend and the indoctrinated interrogator managing to both tie the plots together pose more questions at the same time.
After the reasons behind the incarceration Alex and Billy are explored, the plot opens up and by the final curtain of act one the audience is left in no doubt that the long-hinted arm of the law is never far away, the mockery and disdain of the two disbutable troublermakers towards their captors that brought so much comedy during the first act becoming chillingly justified. The piece closes with a suitably more sober second act, a revealing final interrogation capped off with a touching and finally truthful Alex giving up the only answer he can in a monologue delivered with both sadness and feeling. With believable well-paced writing handled with skill and humour by three strong performances, The Myth of Escape is an alternative prison drama worth capturing before it heads out on a tour that's bound to be greeted with a wave of positive reviews. Review by Simon Fisher
The Myth of Escape
Tuesday 19th July
7.30pm to 9.20 pm
Hyde Festival Theatre
Corporation Street
Hyde
Tickets £6.00 from www.ticketsource.co.uk.
Only 46 tickets left according to the website. I am unsure if payment on the night will be accepted and considering it is likely to be a sell-out it would probably be advisable to book online should you wish to watch this interesting play. Tameside Citizen
16 comments:
It sounds good. I will take a trip over to Hyde to watch this next Tuesday.
Looks interesting a play, but soon to be real life. Getting closer in facr!
Thanks for sharing and confronting the thugs. Who was the thug with the words HATE tatooed on his fingers?
The Myth That Anyone cares.
New Charter Housing Waiting For An Accident To Happen.
If it's You're car that gets damaged blame New Charter.
Over three months they've left these gates like this.
Stop being a bloody interfering busy body. Why did you not just do what any normal person would do and close the gates. You're nearly as bad as John Hall when it comes to creating a nuisance just for the sake of it.
So Eviction Notice is a bloody interfering busybody.????
Its time these organised gtoups of
Labourites who no doubt have connections with TMBC are exposed for what they are which is bullying
Yobs determined to get decent folk to stop posting on TC by rabid insulting accusations and filth directed at anything,or anybody critical of TMBC
Stand up for YOUR RIGHT to post,and make sure they know you are not prepared to slink off with their rants echoing in your ears.
Bullying by groups denotes a basic ineptness and lack of education which provides an inferiority complex which drives their lives
with a hatred of well adjusted,
people who take time to educate themselves daily.
Forget their insulting terminology
it certainly does not count at all or weaken your comments.
Those methods adopted over 25
years by Labour in Tameside were and are their only methods of keeping control with a bunch of pawns set up to defend their feeble cause.
They remain by hiding themselves by switching Anonymous names,
trying to create a ficticious anonymous larger than life body of people who use bullying as a threat to open democratic posting on TC but which everyone can see through.
See how they will now arise folks like fish to the bait.
J.Hall
Eviction Notice, I regularly drive my car down there. Despite being careful I have narrowly avoided hitting them on several occasions as they sometimes swing about. Children open them. They are badly fitted and should NOT overhang the road, open or closed so be quiet until you know what you're talking about.
Well said J hall we still have the
methods and remnants of the R.Oldham
style of power building in tameside,which should have gone with him
Sounds like watching pretentious paint dry. I'll save my £6 for something else thanks.
J Hall has his rant again. Totally mindless. The piece refers to New Charter not Tameside. Go on Hall have your rant again about the links and deception etc etc etc. There are two points here. New Charter should deal with it but then the individual filming could have closed the gate. Instead Hall goes on his usual rant...what a sad individual
The badly written review by Simon Fisher is enough to put anyone off, although I hear on the grapevine that TC may be going.
A big thank You to New Charter.
At last, finally sorted after two months.
Why does it take so long though?
Anyway thanks.
Eviction Notice thats like a knife in my heart.
The kind of comment which, always reminds me to look out for snakes in the grass.
Yes TC is going and taking his buzzard. They've just got engaged.
Thank goodness they have resolved this issue. Even the Third World shithole I come from is better run than this place, but of course it doesn't give away all the freebies.
Just got to wait for my front gate now, been waiting since Feb...
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