Pocket Theatre - One Act Plays

I wasn't aware of Pocket prior to this but from the very helpful program I have determined they were established in 2004 with a mandate to give local playwrights a chance to showcase their work. There were three plays on offer and here's a few thoughts. Please understand - just my opinion. Play One - Keep A Secret by Annie Otness. I found this extremely tough going to be honest. Without giving away the plot, the subject matter of the play did not resonate with me at all and I really didn't understand what the writer was trying to say. I don't believe I would be doing the play a service by writing a full review so I'll simply say it wasn't a play for me and leave it at that. Jeez, that sounds harsh and I want to be encouraging but I also want to be honest. Just not for me this one. Play Two - Unattainable by Jessica Messenger This was the highlight of the night for me. I must admit I am a Jess Mess fan having seen her debut one act play "Rain" last year. I liked Rain a lot but this latest offering is a light year forward in terms of Jess's maturity as a writer. Unattainable is a tighter play and Jess's comfort with writing dialogue reaches new levels here. It may possibly be a little long or wordy in parts - some of the dialogue between Ed and Vanessa may be a little too clever and you may have a tighter play if it was trimmed. Then again, maybe not. This play needed actors who were familiar and comfortable with the script and who could hit cues precisely. Congrats on the casting. Sinead Bevan, Tamiah Bantum and Adam Shuttleworth were uniformly excellent - sharp, snappy, and great to watch together. Unattainable is a thought-piece about body image and Sinead plays wallflower Zoe perfectly. I liked her in Bannockburn and I love her in this. Whilst pining for her boss and ignoring the unseen Josh who longs for more than just friendship she encapsulates for us the hoplessness of trying to conform to what the fashion magazines demand of us and their "instructions" as to what a beautiful, successful person is. The doubts, the depression, the futility - it's all there in her performance. Ed and Vanessa are the ever present doubts and critical thoughts we all have about ourselves and Adam and Tamiah work beautifully together in undermining any comfort Zoe may have with her appearance or lifestyle. The supercilious grins plastered on their faces throughout the play brings home the stupidity of conformity - we're not all shiny, happy people and we don't have to be. Hats off to Sinead for having the comfort to dress and disrobe throughout the play. I sensed no discomfort on her part and it aided and abbetted the script and it's message. Not an easy thing to do and it deserves acknowledgment. You looked wonderful which leads me on to my one criticism. The yellow bodystocking looked awful. Something else (anything) would have been more flattering and poor Sinead goes through enough in this play without this. Minor quibble. Just get rid of it - please! (a ritual burning is in order for that particular prop). The play is directed by the writer which can sometimes be a bad thing but not in this instance. Jess has made clever choices both in her casting, stage set-up, and also in her positioning of the players throughout the piece. Finally, can't finish without mentioning the contribution of the disembodied voice of Theo Messenger as the unseen lovestruck Josh delivering the most cringe-inducing voice message ever committed to tape. Comedy gold! Well done all. Please take this play to Dramafest and the South West Festival if possible. Play Three - Good Idea by Gordon MacNish This play goes unshamedly for belly laughs and succeeds admirably. Ken and Cindy decide, after a whirlwind courtship, to get married against the wishes of Cindy's dad. Ken's best mate, the well meaning but somewhat hopeless Jacko, is enlisted to take Ken and Cindy by boat to the church. Things don't go as planned.....and the farce escalates from there. This is not a message play - it's written for laughs and it delivers. Luciano Vecchio not only directs here but plays daddy as well as an assortment of characters throughout the play. Luciano is an extremely experienced and talented actor and he eats up the stage every time he appears which is no denigration of his fellow actors - it's just that Luciano has a very commanding stage presence, even in a small production like this. Ben Brown brings the laconic Jacko to life. Blissfully ignorant or at least unaffected by the rising catastrophe of his friend's wedding day, he was very easy to watch and delivered the comedy of the character very well. Amy Harrison and Marcelle Weber round out the cast and we see their growing hysteria as their special day disintegrates in a series of escalating events. Nicely judged performances all round. I did feel it was a little overlong and the closing quarter of the play could be wrapped up a little quicker as it dragged a little after the hijinks of the first 3 quarters but that's a minor quibble. The venue itself is the local bowling club and the staff behind the bar serviced the attendees admirably. I estimated there were some 70 - 80 patrons which is an excellent turnout for a series of one act plays and the joint, as they say, was packed. Small stage redressed at each interval which never exceeded 15 minutes and each play was introduced before performance began. Lighting and sound were provided by Sean Mitton who did an admirable job particularly given this is not a theatre venue per se. All in all, a great night out. Last night tonite and I would encourage people to go and also to attend future Pocket Theatre offerings. You folks have something here - very impressed.