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| NATIONAL YOUTH THEATRE OF WALES - NO OTHER DAY LIKE TODAY , Riverfront Newport , September 15, 2010 |
A day in the life of a small Welsh town and its ordinary/extraordinary inhabitants. No, this is not Under Milk Wood, although it wickedly acknowledges that play's long shadow with numerous sly references.This is the third in a trilogy for large ensembles, with the sort of numbers of actors on stage that takes the breath away in these days of theatrical minimalism. Following the terrific Myths of the Mabinogi and the entertaining but emptier Century comes a celebration of the mundane aspects of everyday life in the now which falls somewhere between the two. For a lot of its length it is sprawling and somewhat unfocussed, leaping to life only in the electrifying set-pieces like the chorus number showing how chatting on mobile phones can lead to total non-communication and despair. It's only in the second half that an event occurs that shifts it into an area of real emotion and moves it from being simply enjoyable into something truly memorable. Part of the problem earlier on was that the script, composed by writers in the company and co-ordinated by Manon Eames, was so densely packed with jokes and wry commentary that it was often difficult to latch onto a line before the next was taken up by another cast member. But enough of quibbles, time to celebrate and accentuate the positive. The whole company inhabited the stage with enormous energy and presence. The precision of the movement work was genuinely awe-inspiring. Tim Baker had marshalled his enormous forces with such skill and understanding that never for a second did the set pieces merely look slick or well-drilled, they always had vibrant theatricality. Nor were individual performances overshadowed, characters emerged from the crowd and made their marks, comic or serious, in fine style. One in particular provided what will be one of my comic highlights of the year. The barely controlled, ever growing hysteric mania of the drugs-awareness police talk to a school class was a tour-de-force, delivered with masterful comic awareness and timing and fully deserving of its round of applause. So back to the second half and a brilliantly choreographed wedding reception. As well as being spectacular and very funny, it also contained a totally convincing video message from the absent Best Man. Absent because he was unavoidably detained in the army, fighting in a distant war. The power of what happened next was in the quiet everyday treatment of it. Particularly in his mother's response to the officers who announced his death with the platitudes of how much he meant to all his comrades in arms. She simply asked if they even knew his middle name, a devastating moment. Then it was back to the mobile phones and the problems of actually saying anything meaningful in an age of mass communication. In spite of my slight quibbles about the play, as far as the company is concerned, on stage, back stage, the writing group, this is a production they can be, and I am sure will continue to be, very proud to have been a part of. |
Reviewed by: Victor Hallett |
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