Aphrodite

The play Aphrodite (also know as Sex Cells) written by Anna Longaretti is a funny, poignant play about motherhood, friendship, love and loss. Set in the call centre of Aphrodite, a sex toy manufacturer, we follow the lives of four female employees and one man over the course of a year. Beneath the witty banter and humour we get to experience the lives of four very different women. Lilly the star employee who is stuck in a loveless marriage and is estranged from her son, Tiffany young and single looking for ‘the one’, Sylvie desperate to have a baby and Janice who rarely has time for her husband due to the demands of her five children. The centre is under the control of Mr Causeway, a gentle and innocent manager who attempts to diffuse the growing tensions between his employees whilst suppressing his crush on Lily. The themes of the play are four very different views on motherhood.

Clair Austin as Lily gave a great performance and showed the depth and range required for this character. I thought her performance came very naturally and I particularly enjoyed the poignant scenes on the telephone to her son Alan. Clair’s accent was well maintained and she remained in character throughout.

Jackie Sherlock as Janice was good as the worn out mum of 5, her straight delivery of some of the lines set up some great comic moments especially when giving advice to customers.

Sylvie played by Sam Kick I found an interesting contrast to the others due to her French accent along with her emotional outbursts caused by the emotions linked to her I.V.F treatment, leaving the other characters around her walking on eggshells. The sustainability of a French accent did dip on occasions during the emotional outbursts but overall a controlled performance.

Alexandria Hughes as Tiffany was excellent; I always find that it isn’t all about what you say it’s about the character that you inhabit.  A well-rounded character and accent sustained throughout.

Mr Causeway played by Adam Barrett was subtly underplayed. Against four headstrong female leads this was a difficult role to get right. The background acting required in many of the scenes was a particular delight to watch.

There were a number of missed and prompted lines on the evening that I went to watch, which was a shame as it broke the natural rhythm of some of the scenes and slowed the pace.

Scene changes denoted the passing of time with some excellent choices of music, which supported the mood, or progression of the storyline. Original music written and performed by Jackie Sherlock was also a nice addition.

There were multiple and frequent costume changes also to show the passing of the months but not all were reflective of the season or month in which the scenes were set.

The set up and layout of the show was on two levels and provided a good performance space for managers office, toilets, rest area & kitchen, packing area and of course the call centre. Properties were good and I am sure that sourcing the more ‘adult’ properties used in this production must have been an interesting!

There are multiple story lines to follow in the production and I did leave wanting to know more about how some of them would finally be resolved. Overall this was a poignant and funny play, well supported by its large audience.

 

 

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