We saw this show a few weeks ago in Bristol but our reviewer felt the production did not achieve or reveal its true potential due to a disappointingly small, and therefore unresponsive, audience. So, in the interests of giving a fair crack of the whip, I went along to the Everyman Studio to see for myself.
Firstly, let me say that there was a decent enough audience so I think their reactions would be typical and uninhibited. So, did they have an entertaining evening?
You Were After Poetry is in fact two short plays presented and performed by TicTac Theatre which consists of Hannah Brooks and Scott Goodair. The duo’s mission statement is that they use, “minimal sets and simple costume, with the aim of drawing attention to the text and action of the play as opposed to the spectacle of pretty images.” Hmmm. Laudable first bit but I think it is rather naïve and immature to suggest that any play that does not share those values is a “spectacle of pretty images”. But we’ll let that pass for the moment.
The two plays are ideally matched, as any double-bill should be, and both deal with relationships and the pitfall of marriage. First up was You Were After Poetry by Steve Bloomer which relates the break-up of a relationship soon after the word “marriage” is spoken. The young couple are lounging in bed on a Sunday morning, as one does, but it all goes wrong as soon as any sort of commitment by the woman is required. The couple split and we see them drift off in different directions.
The second piece, The Bride To Be by Peter Quilter, is also about the reluctance to commit to marriage by a young woman, but the play is as much about her relationship with her brother who is helping her prepare for her big day. Possibly better titled The Bride to Be or Not to Be, it deals with the wobbles the woman is experiencing prior to her third walk up the aisle. Now, it could be argued that if she had been married twice before she should know better and that, in fact, is the way she is beginning to feel. She shillys and shallys, delaying the fateful moment and everything contrives to go wrong with her preparations, including spilling coffee on her parachute-like bridal gown and the heavens opening on the garden-based ceremony.
I think this is marginally the better play of the two, with a faster pace and more laughs, although Poetry gives the pair of young actors more scope by having a few extra characters. Both Ms Brooks and Mr Goodair give accomplished performances in a couple of very well-chosen, quality plays which ideally suit their talents. The selection of material is important for any theatre company but is crucial for a smaller one where much more depends on it.
This is only TicTac’s second production and it bodes well for their future – although dogma is rarely a good premise on which to proceed. ★★★☆☆ Michael Hasted 18th June 2016
