12 – 13 September
Christopher Sainton-Clark is a prodigious talent. He not only started Raising Cain Productions just a couple of years ago, but has also starred in films and written several short stories. A Year And A Day is a one-man show and although it has jokes, it is essentially a serious piece written for the most part in rhyme.
We see an empty black box where suddenly a lone actor appears bare foot to gradually unveil his story. At around the age of twenty Nathan’s life undergoes a change: at the end of each of his days life for everyone else moves on a whole year, but his does not, so after the passage of thirty years Nathan is a mere month older. It is a dramatic conceit, it is not really sci-fi or physics or magic, but it allows the actor to present a whole life time of other characters from his young man’s point of view. But of course from Nathan’s stand point this is a curse. Being in peoples’ lives for just one day a year is upsetting. His girlfriend believe he has deserted her. It also allows him to behave badly because he is the disappearing man. How would you behave if you had this freedom? Nathan sees himself as merely average with faults, but from our perspective he does some terrible things.
Sainton-Clark’s skilfull acting delineates several different characters. His portrayals are natural with dynamic movement in the minimal set. I wondered whether the play might have been stronger with other actors playing the additional parts and I felt we got to know the male characters better than we knew Nathan’s girlfriend. But I decided that we were seeing the other characters from Nathan’s point of view and having him act them all emphasised this. This simplicity gave the show strength.
Sainton-Clark created Raising Cain Productions in 2021 with the aim of producing small scale, bold and innovative theatre that provokes thought and delivers entertainment in equal measure. This production certainly succeeded in doing so. In an hour’s one-man show, densely packed with ideas, we are made to consider time, morality and relationships. Catch this play at the Alma Tavern Theatre tonight, or at another of its tour venues.
★★★★☆ Keith Erskine, 13 September 2023
Photo credit: Rosanna Mallinson
