At Hijinx Theatre |
| Hijinx Theatre- To Have and to Hold , Pontardawe Arts Centre , May 12, 2005 |
| A very cheerful looking family wedding video sets the scene. Rachel the bride, vibrant and pretty is given a very intelligent and lively performance by Peri Thomas. The happy couple is completed by tall dark and handsome groom, Phil very sensitively portrayed by Ceris Jones. The bouquet goes over the bride’s shoulder and it’s caught by Phil’s younger sister, Rhiannon – great expectations! Sadly life is never quite so simple. This revival, of Hijinx To Have and To Hold, launched the company’s Spring tour, at the very attractive and lively Pontardawe Arts Centre, which it will continue to visit, as well as venues in Wales, centres as far apart as Blackpool and Gloucester. This neat and well rounded production was given a well deserved send off by the Deputy Mayor of Neath and Port Talbot and representatives of the higher echelons of The Arts Council of Wales and many friends of the company. ‘ Any play about falling in love, romance and weddings deals with universal emotions…and with the additional ingredient of dependency how much more potent the mix. Our play offers no easy answers, it explores a situation and opens the door to possibilities…to quote the old Chinese saying…”a journey of a 1,000 miles starts with a single step.”’ Val Hill Hijinx Administrative Director. Or in this case a throw of a bouquet. Of course the production and its themes are of interest to everyone but the essential message of the play is directed at an audience of adults with learning difficulties. Whether seeing the play is a help to them is as big a question as how much help to anyone is a visit to the RSC or National Theatre? In their new married home Phil has undertaken responsibility for Rhiannon, a knowing teenager despite her impaired awareness skills. The strength of the production arises from the cast’s real ability to create such real and convincing characters. Eloise Howe, as Rhiannon strikes a perfect balance in giving us both the vulnerabilities of the character and her flashes of genuine joy. Peri Thomas shows her frustration at the situation of not having her newly-wed husband completely to herself but at the same time creates an understanding character and gives herself fully to this potentially difficult situation. With the target audience in mind, Hijinx founding Artistic Director Gaynor Lougher determines that the productions are never over long. In this case I did miss a word or two of scene setting indicating how we arrived at the situation at the core of the play. Rhiannon has a delightful imagination and has decided that she has a couple of potential husbands in the pipeline before she suddenly realises she has real feelings for fellow student Darren. Darren is given such a beautifully warm and cuddly performance by Emyr John that anyone would want to give him a hug and take him home. They clearly get on very well and Rhiannon is soon into lipstick and ‘pins’ in her hair. She tells us, “I like kissing Darren. Feels nice. Think about him all the time. His funny face. Sparkly eyes. ‘proper relationship’ Rachel said. Holding hands, kissing. Proper relationship.’ Once again the Hijinx well proven style, of hanging up a few sheets and turning then into vibrant theatre, formula, works very well. Chrys Blanchard’s music, both Al Cappella and recorded, gently echo the themes and help to move the play on from scene to scene. Although the difficulties that will probably lie ahead are flagged up we leave on a high note, as always full of the delight and joy, the rich soft creamy chocolate centre taste that a visit to any Hijinx production always leaves in the mouth. Whilst the cast did bring real depth to the characters they play, one does just wonder, does Hijinx let their audience off too lightly, should their work, after twenty years, offer a greater degree of challenge to their audiences and could those sheets be hung just a little more cleverly? |
Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan |
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