Try to envisage an edition of Big Brother scripted by Harold Pinter and you begin to get the flavour of this quirky, off-the-wall drama by Swansea writer Tracy Harris.
Revolving around a dysfunctional family whose vocabulary is as limited as their wardrobe, this was a curious piece perhaps best regarded as a play for voices rather than an effective vehicle for theatrical presentation.
In many ways this was infuriating stuff, marred by an over-reliance on Pinteresque mind games and weakened by performances which failed to do justice to the highly stylised dialogue.
Apart from periodic forays into the vernacular of physical theatre, there was little here which worked in visual terms and in the end it was Tracy Harris's creativity which proved to be the most encouraging feature of this production.
Harris is a writer whose distinctive voice and singular vision will eventually make an important contribution to the Welsh dramatic scene. What needs to be remembered, however, is that live theatre has to be seen as well as heard. |
