Theatr Iolo |
| Theatre Iolo- Here Be Monsters , Chapter, Cardiff , August 11, 2013 |
With a slight note of cynicism lurking at the back of my mind, monsters, on stage, in Chapter’s small intimate theatre? Designer Charlotte Neville’s delightful mess greets us as we settle in our seats. A patch of waste ground on the edge of the town. Two young, near teenage girls stand around already bored at the start of the summer holidays. Sam is much more self-possessed than Elfi. Elfi finds a tattered old book, the first of many distractions this littered patch will throw up at them as the day goes by.With writer Mark Williams’ colourful dialogue the children set up the atmosphere that will permeate the whole of the play. We hear a story about a grotesque doll in a haunted fridge. Sam has gone; Elfi is alone with her ‘half brother’ Ed. Magic and monster pictures emerge from the book. They look closely into it and conclude that it is telling them that they need to trap, in the jam jars that they have prepared for the job, four monsters by nighttime or the town will die. There has been a strange feel about the town for some time. And we are already believing in it all. My cynicism has flown out the window and we haven’t seen any monsters yet! The young actors Ed, Adam Scales and Elfi, Llinos Mai are so utterly engaging that they captivate and pull us willingly into the world of their vivid imaginations. Much of this is a result of the skillful acting ability they employ, they don’t try to give perfect imitation of young teenagers but use the words of the play, to subtly colour in their characters. As they make their way around the shops in the town, the pulling and pushing of clothes rails and flower buckets set the scene for each of their adventures. With a witches bell and magic mirrors it is not long before the first monster is in the jar. But the slithery, scary charms, so successfully demonstrated by Ceri Elen and Jenny Livsey did take some effort from our monster catchers to succeed. But things get more difficult now. Elfi is almost attacked by a vast menacing seagull monster made from recycled litter and the same pile of old newspapers envelope Ed and he becomes a very frightening monster himself. I and many people around me were really feeling quite scared. There is no doubt now that Here Be Monsters. In the real world, Elfi’s dad Douglas, another fine double-edged performance from Richard Nichols, tries to become friends with Ed but Ed’s mum Carol has yet to come to terms with her new stepdaughter. A bit of a family falling out occurs. Ed and Elfi’s friendship is stretched to breaking point. But it’s not too long before the chase for the final monster brings them back together. They return to the florist’s shop where the shop owner gave them the foxglove (the witch’s bell) to start them off on their seemingly incredible monster hunt. But there was still one more very scary hurdle to clear. They sorted it out, a very dramatic finish to their scary adventure. Their friendship warms and they go off to buy fish and chips and we get the feeling that this new family is going to work out. Theatre Iolo director, Kevin Lewis has perfectly balanced the production. Were the ‘monsters’ inside the trouble minds of these two children as they struggled to come to terms with their new family environment? They certainly scared us and it was a great relief to enjoy the happy ending. |
Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan |
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