Review of Progress
 | "An interesting piece of theatre" by Sophie Cornell for remotegoat on 21/01/10 |  |
Will and Ronee's relationship is on the rocks thanks, in part, to Ronee's lesbian lover Andrea. Condemned to the sofa, Will's life is not made any easier by Ange - bought in by Ronee whilst she works out what to do about her abusive husband. The three remaining members of Will's "Men's Group" are also having relationship crises more closely connected than at first is apparent. Finally everything climaxes at a drunken barbeque.
Although it takes a few minutes to get accustomed to a few of the voices and some slight over-characterisation, the performance was interesting with some good comic timing. Admittedly some moments at the beginning were a little false but I would put this down to first night nerves, and as the cast warmed up this was juxtaposed by believable and heartfelt performances. Richard Crawley as Will was strong throughout and the lynch-pin that held this production together. His relationship with Ronee was well played and together they provided the most firmly-handled moments. A commanding performance came from Victoria Strachan as Ronee who creates the unseen lover Andrea with ease. Amy Dawson's performance as Ange initially treads a fine line of being believable; some false crying alienated the audience early on and although the performance was emotional, the audience were a little isolated and so not as shocked or emotionally moved as is achievable.
The relationship triangle between Oliver, Martin and Bruce blossomed in the second act. It was not explored as deeply as it could have been early on, resulting in the revelation of Bruce and Martin's affair as a jarring scene; seemingly out of context until the second act. Lenny (Martin Blakelock)'s drunken poems at first were a little melodramatic, however he managed to flip for the second violent poem: for a minute I feared for my own safety in the intimate surrounding of the Union Theatre.
The rumblings of the tube add to the atmosphere as does a strong set design in a well utilised small space. Glover's "kitchen-sink drama" direction was good, except for the final image, which although interesting didn't quite fit with the rest of the production. Some messy scene changes in half-light managed to break the reverie the cast were building and would perhaps be something worth addressing.
In all, some moving moments and a strong message makes this an interesting piece of theatre.
| Event Venues & Times | |
| finished | Union Theatre | 204 Union Street, London, SE1 0LX |
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