| Interesting, confusing and claustrophobic |
At Sgript Cymru |
| Sgript Cymru- Past Away , Chapter Arts Centre , September 12, 2002 |
| Due to the enormous amount of attention surrounding Sgript Cymru’s last production, the controversial ‘Franco’s Bastard’ is a tough act to follow. However, all the negative criticism and positive debate has done Sgript Cymru’s reputation good, making their name a real crowd puller, which is all the better for Tracy Harris as her professional debut ‘Past Away’ sold out on the first night. Developed as part of a Sgript Cymru scheme in Swansea, ‘Past Away’ is quite a bizarre play looking at the lives of Brian, his wife Susan, brother Jo and the lodger Eddie, in the aftermath of the death of Brian and Jo’s father. At first it seems as though the stage, an elegant, sterile white two-up one-down apartment, represents three different flats with its cutaway walls sectioning off the bedroom, kitchen and lounge, but it soon becomes clear that the four inhabitants are sharing the same luxuriously trendy, minimalist home. It is very strange than, that they fear Dave the bank manager whom they owe just £50 should unprofessionally ‘come and get them’, and that Brian and Susan should feel that they wouldn’t be able to give a child a decent life due to their supposedly uncomfortable financial situation. Perhaps to a couple who appear to be smartly and expensively dressed, the thought of accumulating any debt is simply horrendous, or maybe their style is just a front. Once they barricade themselves in, hiding from Dave, the four proceed to drive each other round the bend, involving themselves in a game of power trips, paranoia, mind games and manipulation, often to comic effect (even farcical at times) but predominantly infuriating, as they consistently mishear and misunderstand the rhythmic language Tracy Harris has given them to speak with. After a while, Jo who has been prescribed anti-depressants appears to be the sanest of them all, despite turning into a ‘fucking psycho’ during the climax of the play. But it is hard to be sure. There are some aspects of the play that are unresolved such as; why were they all suddenly living in the dead man’s flat? Was it actually his flat, or did he just die there? Did Jo live there prior to his dad dying because he was suffering from depression? How long had Eddie the lodger lived there? Did he really know what had happened to the inheritance wealth? But these unanswered questions seem deliberate (of course it is possible I may have missed some whilst digesting the, at times, rather quick-fire dialogue!) rather than unconsidered, as the production was well executed, and the play developed over several months. Perhaps this is the secret of the play, the part that will bring an audience member back to see it several times over, searching for a new clue each time. It is likely that the pieces of information that don’t seem to add up actually don’t add up, as is often the way when someone passes away, they take many truths about themselves to the grave. Although ‘Past Away’ did not excite me personally quite as much as ‘Franco’s Bastard’ it is certainly very interesting, confusing and claustrophobic. It is very refreshing to see a theatre company unafraid to take risks by employing young writers and practitioners straight out of college, who are not only bound to produce more diverse work but are the industry’s future and should therefore be given a chance and invested in, not forced into a frustratingly absurd chicken/egg situation with regard to work and experience. Sgript Cymru deserve their reputation for producing progressive theatre, by concentrating their energies on developing young emerging talent. |
Reviewed by: Zoe Hewett |
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