At Sgript Cymru |
| Script Cymru in association with Solo Theatre Company- Art and Guff , Chapter Arts Centre , April 4, 2001 |
| "ART AND GUFF" - By Catherine Tregenna Script Cymru in association with Soho Theatre Company Chapter Arts Centre 4th April 2001 This theatrical situation tragicomedy is a effectively written, moving piece of theatre. Written by Catherine Tregenna, it follows the lives of Art and Guff (Richard Harrington and Roger Evans) as they struggle to survive in a grim little flat with the temptation of excessive alcohol consumption as the major priority. Art desperately wishes to become a writer, but is trapped in his own fear-filled world in which he firmly believes that there is little hope for someone like himself. Guff, his long time best friend is there to encourage and inspire him but they never seem to get any further than the bar! The plot is slightly predictable, as it seems tragedy is the only place to which it can go. The nuisance next door neighbours (Ralph Arliss and Glenna Morrison) seem to have no real function except emphasizing Art's agoraphobic tendencies and being quite strange individuals. The skill of this piece most definitely lies within the relationship that Art and Guff have created on the stage. Harrington and Evans have captured the closeness of these characters perfectly and because of this we are drawn into their despondent yet strangely interesting lives. They are both quite macho individuals yet the closeness and intimacy that is present between them shows a bond that many males find very hard to express. The final scene, as Art finds Guff dead after a night of heavy drinking is so very moving that this overcomes any imperfections with other aspects of the play. The director (Bethan Jones) has created some highly emotional scenes aided by the effective choices of music (portishead in particular) and realistic set that really captured what life is like for these hard-up hopefuls. The death of Guff gave a kind of resolution to the piece as we would like to assume that this was the event that caused Art to pull himself together and make it as the writer he could only have dreamed of being up to this point. By Victoria Cooper |
Reviewed by: Victoria Cooper |
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