A Trio of Plays

I recently had the good fortune to attend WITS latest production, which consisted of an evening of three short plays. Having been warmly greeted I was shown to my seat. The stage set was simple and minimalistic for each play with prop and small set changes made very smoothly by both crew and the cast. Costumes were thoughtfully curated and creative in their representation of particular characters. The play A Dog’s Life, for instance, used simple costuming to represent the breed of each dog which was cleverly done.

With the show commencing on time and a small but enthusiastic audience the evening started with ‘After Esme’, written by Kathryn West.

‘After Esme’ is a story of relationships, loss and the impact that has on each individual and the subsequent change in dynamics of the friendships of those left behind, Pauline, Alice and Jenny. What used to be four friends is now three, feeling the loss of the fourth member of the group, Esme, recently.  Esme however is still present in spirit whenever the group meet for their traditional outings to cafes and restaurants. She is listening to and watching the three friends she left behind.  The ghost of Esme, played by Beryl Buckle, was always the sage one with wise words and observations on life. She knew and understood each of the three so when, individually, each character sat on the favourite bench in the park  to reflect and talk to Esme, trying to come to terms with aspects of their lives and to express their grief and loss, they would hear Esme's voice again with loving and kind advice she always gave as if she were with them on the bench (which, for the audience, she was).

Pauline, played by Pamela Austin, is a woman with frustrations, bitterness and regrets lurking just beneath the surface, which occasionally escapes through her use of foul language and acerbic criticism of others. Jenny, played by Cheryl Fletcher, is a woman dealing with loneliness and the dread of living the rest of her life alone and without love, having lost the love of her life a few years before. Any man she has dated since could never measure up to her husband. Then we have Alice, played by Carol Smith, ever resourceful, who always seems to have a practical solution to any practical problem in her bag, which seemed to be bottomless. We all know these people and are familiar with the different personalities that make up a group of friends.  Each character was sensitively and beautifully brought to life on the stage, and it was clear that they had spent considerable time and commitment on their character development, by how well they presented each unique personality. The manager of each establishment the group frequented was played well by Ray Albone and the waitress of each by Elena Martinez-Blanco who was either fabulously chirpy or dour and bored depending on which establishment the friends were in. Everyone gave a wonderfully sympathetic portrayal of their characters.

‘A Dog’s Life’ written by Pam Valentine is a play centring on the experiences and opinions of four dogs of different breeds in a dog shelter from their perspective. It makes quite an impactful statement on how we as humans assume a dog’s wants and needs as we anthropomorphise them and take them for granted. Each dog has a history of cruelty, abandonment or loss of their human. The shelter warden, played by Dene Woods, demonstrates this human ignorance very well by his attitudes and differences in his regard for the different breeds demonstrating how easily we may misunderstand canine behaviour and making assumptions based on breed or cuteness levels.

Fritz, a German Shepherd played very well by Stuart Dickinson in military camouflage fatigues, representing his former life in security and the military, highly trained, disciplined and very proud of his past, but of course now has no purpose.  Fritz has been at the shelter for a long time, his past life going against him now so there is very little chance for re-homing. Ginger, played brilliantly by Elena Martinez-Blanco, is a cute little, excitable food obsessed puppy with the wiggliest of bums and a bright button eyed face who is loved by everyone.  Fifi, played very elegantly by Carol Smith is a vain French Poodle who has had a rich and spoiled life, is more accustomed to the finer things including her favourite, titbits.  Ben is a Scottie dog, older and grieving, waiting for his beloved owner to come and collect him and not understanding why he never does. Roger Mitchell played the part of Ben with the sadness, weariness and cynicism of a hard life on the road with his beloved human who saved his life and to whom he was very loyal right to the end.

A man, played by Cliff Mullins, comes to visit and there is hope for each dog that they’ll be chosen and given a home, safety, love and care again. But as the Warden goes along, explaining their individual needs, encouraging each dog to be at their best and most attractive, the man cannot make up his mind and forms all manner of reasons and anxieties about having any of them.

The dogs tell each other stories of their life, their life changing experiences and the circumstances that saw them put into a shelter. Their individual stories were poignant, and heart wrenching.  This is a fine play, with the actors portraying each dog convincingly through the clever use of accents and breed specific behaviours.

Finally, we had ‘A Cast Is Die’ written by Peter Robbie. This was a complicated and interesting play about a table read by cast members culminating in dire consequences.  A multi-layered, fast paced play where the lines between real life and script blur. The Director played by Roger Mitchell, a stereotypical, excitable, flamboyant luvvy, introduces the play to the cast. The Writer, Archie, played by Stuart Dickinson is proud and protective of his written work. Hermione played by Beryl Buckle, an older experienced actor, is being pushed off her pedestal by the young and fresh new star in town, Bella, played by Elena Martinez-Blanco and they insult each other at every opportunity. The young and energetic leading man played by Ray Albone was suitably bombastic and arrogant in his overacting, launching into character at any moment very badly and showing off. 

As the script is read through, the storyline becomes reality, which required impeccable timing by the cast in their delivery of the lines, as the play hurtled towards its dramatic conclusion.

I found this play a difficult watch as I had to concentrate hard to work out what was going on. The cast were a little hesitant at the start of the play, and on reflection I think that may be due to the complicated multi-layered nature of the plot. Taking this into consideration the cast did very well to keep it moving and, as they did, the pace became more confidently delivered and smooth. This was a challenge for the cast which I feel they rose to admirably.

Congratulations also go to Beryl Buckle and Georgia Davies for a job very well done. Beryl directed A Dog’s Life and under her direction the cast were able to capture the emotive life experiences and stories of each dog perfectly. Georgia Davies directed both After Esme and The Cast is Die and did a fabulous job of bringing both to life on the stage, especially as the latter being such a challenging project!

Sound and lighting were also excellent as were the back stage crew and front of house team. It takes a village to run a show and WITS did not disappoint.

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