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the passion8words
The passion8words is presented by Jeff Thomson.
on air - fun 8 word theatre reviews.
online - full reviews written by Jeff.
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NEW FOUND LANDS
ARCHIVE REVIEW
“Winter” by Nell Leyshon and “One Foot Wet” by Robert Chafe are two-linked one act plays bound by isolation that is emotional and geographical. The evening is a co-production by Theatre Newfoundland and the Forest Forge Theatre Company.
“Winter” is set in a cramped, storm ravaged cottage, in Newfoundland: it is 1850. Within it the matriarch Elizabeth (Maggie Tagney) ruthlessly contains her abject loneliness as her daughters Sarah (Rebecca Hulbert) and Mary (Rebecca Whitbread) come to terms with theirs. The relentless storming outside is reflected by the emotional turmoils within and made all the more potent by the appearance of hunky neighbour John (Darryl Hopkins). John, however, has a penchant for the older woman and Elizabeth surrenders herself – somewhat readily – to his advances.
On temporary staging in the Canadian High Commission, the Company effectively suggest a range of stifled and corseted frustrations that playwright Nell Leyshon stalks with a relentless eye. This is assisted by a storming soundtrack but not followed through with creaking doors, pebbled approaches or seeping sea mists – all of which could be physically conjured; on one occasion John arrived as if by silent jet skis. Sadly my own coastal home also succumbs to sandy dust and salt-clouded glass so I was intrigued to examine a set of showroom brilliance.
The second play links into modern Dorset with Maggie Tagney again in fine form as a cantankerous old landlady. She proves an effective foil for her feisty tenant Sophie (Melanie Caines) as the two women explore and ‘politely’ expose each other’s vulnerabilities with surgical precision. There is no anaesthetic! References to ancestral emigration and heirlooms build into a satisfying awareness of family ties and provide a controlled climax to an otherwise raw evening of nervous tension.
The emphasis is on performance and the strong ensemble playing holds true.
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