Forget me not / Refections

‘Forget me not’ and ‘Refractions’ is a double bill, both plays being written by Damon Lockwood for Damage Theatre, Longwood Productions, and Deckchair’s second Umbrella show. They are showing at the Deckchair Theatre within the Victoria Hall, 179 High Street, Fremantle until 6^th November. Performances times are Tue-Sat 8pm, matinees on Saturday 2.00 pm and Sunday 5.00 pm.

‘Forget me not’
         A middle-aged man (Don Smith) is sitting in his armchair listening to the radio when his son (Matt Longman) arrives. He warmly hugs the young man, so pleased to see his son again after ‘eight years’. In actual fact, his son has just been out of the house for a brief period. Due to Herpes Simplex, the virus that causes cold sores, a man’s brain has been affected and he now has only a memory span of a couple of minutes.

When a young woman (Mischa Ipp), her partner (Sam Longley) and ten-year-old son (Filippo Gioffre’) arrive at the house, does the old chap know them? Why have they called?

This is a magnificent piece of writing. In the 40 minutes of this play, you learn a great deal about the characters. The storyline is tragic, sad, inventive and original. Your heart will go out to the old chap, his pathetic situation and total vulnerability.  Don Smith and Sam Longley, as you have never seen them before, were fantastic and backed by a very strong cast. A wonderful play, beautifully produced.

     As the exquisite sound of a harp playing ‘Heart of Glass’, accompanied by the harpist (Catherine Ashley) singing in the style of Melanie Safka, the poignant words of the song set the scene.

     A domestic row is brewing, when a wife (Talei Howell-Price) and husband (James Helm) have things to say to each other. The wife had met an old friend (Chris Issacs) of her husband in the street, only to discover that, for years, he had been unfaithful.

     When the husband looks in the mirror, even the mirror has trouble looking back at this unfaithful person; instead it projects an image of what is really going on behind his wife’s back.

The director, Mark Storen, has employed an ‘in the round’ setting for these plays, fully using the space to take the actors right up to the audience. Because the two scripts are very much character based, this intimacy to the performers gives extra depth.

The set design by Cherie Hewson is simple but effective. The first play has a huge clock dominating the set, reminding the audience of the man’s plight. Joe Lui’s lighting design carefully picks out the mood with subtle control of the light levels. In the second play, the lighting is cleverly used to give the reflection’s vision of the situation, showing us the apparent events with the truth projected onto a wall in the form of silhouettes.

These are two very different, serious plays, well away from Damon’s normal comedy scripts. The first is exceptionally touching, the second very much an adult script, with visions and language which could offend. Whilst being very funny, the second play had an exceedingly dark background to the situation.

Congratulations to Damon and his cast for trying something completely new. Everyone will love the first play, but some may find the symbolism and inferences of the second difficult to comprehend. I thoroughly enjoyed both.