Hole

I was very warmly welcomed to this afternoon performance of Hole, which was held in what I can only describe as, a very large, permanent outbuilding, a unique facility suitable for holding entertainment events linked to the pub and a popular venue with locals. It had a vast open space on stage with quite a sizeable seating area below, with rows of placed chairs for the audience. There was a side room, from where the cast first emerged, before ascending to the stage, ‘the radio station’s sound studio,’ to take their places behind music stands, which held their prop pages.

This was a local,’ outdoor,’ space which had a summery feel to it, certainly different to the more usual formal theatre settings and was the first of three performances that afternoon. It was a unique performance and though the play was only 40 minutes long in its entirety, the director had created an intimate sense of community within the group inclusive too drawing in members of the audience.   There was plenty of social interaction between the actors, costumed to present diverse and interesting characters from society, the real world. Each actor, unrelated to what their image engendered in our minds, delivered lines from pieces of paper which suggested were the lines from a radio script, entitled Hole, with prescribed roles. I had a great view of the stage, observing some interesting interactions between the cast members, noting those who seemed to be star struck, blowing some kisses and hand waving with excitement to some audience members.

The set was minimal. There was a portable clothes rail at the back of the stage which allowed some costume changes and provided a space for the actors to hang their coats after they had entered the auditorium. Beside stage right and stage left at the front of the stage, there was a row of music stands, where pages, which gave the impression of being scripts, were placed. An ’On Air,’ notice signalled the start of broadcasting of ‘Hole.’ Technically, this was not a demanding play and with limited movements away from the music stands it allowed the audience to connect more closely with the characters and focus on their interactions and use of props; as well as concentrate on the language within the radio play, which was challenging at times to follow.

There were 10 scenes and as each scene was supposedly read, pages were discarded on to the floor, which were collected up by the cleaner at the end of the play, who hovered behind the cast. The script first focused on the dialogue between two builders, Phil and Bobbie, working on an old house and who had discovered a hole. They debated on whether it was a wall or a hole. We then heard from the new owners of this house being renovated, namely husband, Rodger, and wife Evelyn. We learned that Lucinda, the architect, planned to meet them at the house. Meanwhile, two further characters in the play were introduced, Stanley, the foreman, and Cassandra, the designer, who argued about the need to build a wall. They were interrupted by builders, Bobbie and Phil, who pointed out to Stanley the inexplicable void, the hole they have discovered. In Scene 5, the story introduced Capable, the architect, who was not recognised by the new owners, Evelyn and Rodger and accused by Lucinder as an intruder. As the play progressed the mystery of the hole became subject for much debate and the problem remained unresolved. The dialogue concluded, when everyone assembled in the same room, that the apparent vacuum was a mysterious mystery and there was no conceivable way of eradicating the problem. Stanley was advised to control his builders; Cassandra was instructed anaglypta was not allowed; the architect was advised as being disappointing; and it was only Lucinda who was thanked as the owners, Rodger and Evelyn drove away from the scene. The radio play closed in the same way as it had been introduced, with banter from the voice of rock DJ at the radio station, with a suggestion that the content of the play may have been difficult to understand.

Unusually, this was a play with its set characters performed by actors playing diverse characters, some costumed as eccentrics, some stereo typically or imaginatively. Rob Fisher projected his voice in a theatrical, melodramatic fashion with arms gesturing all emotion in his descriptions. He was very demonstrative delivering his lines and injected much expression in his part. His character, Sebastian, clearly took his role as narrator seriously. Moira Shrimpton read the part of Bobbie Builder, and appropriate to her representation of a gangsta rapper dressed in a gold puffer jacket and sunglasses, adopted a cool, uninhibited poise. Phil Builder was delivered effectively, using low voice tones by Leigh Dudbridge, dressed in a tuxedo possibly suggesting a degree of masculinity. She actively devoured a yoghurt as one was enjoyed by this builder in the script. She was clearly, ’into her role.’ Simon Powell’s scruffy presentation as the actor, gave the impression of being unreserved and carefree. He seemed to enjoy delivering the role of husband Rodger Crumpuskit and frequently smiled to the audience. Shirley Gladwin appeared to relish attention paid to her as an actress and with an enthusiasm to read the part of Evelyn Crumpuskit, the wife, with emphasis. Cath Fisher was dressed as a goth seemingly with an outgoing personality and a sense of fun (seen sending texts and receiving them). She read the part of Lucinda with appropriate intonation. Simon Whitehouse was presented in costume as a drag queen and was suitably distracted by others around him, unconstrained yet not always focussed on the script, (sharply admonished by the narrator). Simon read the part of Stanley. Kathy Mc Entagart enjoyed being the centre of attention and her character enjoyed dressing to impress’ her fans.’ Although it was a radio play, she took the role of fashionista and Cassandra very seriously and changed outfits accordingly. Capable, the architect’s speech was voiced by Jane Parkyn who wore, curiously, a red riding hood outfit. Notable credit also to supporting cast, including Rodger Jones and Richard Astle for their contributions.

In terms of the content of the script, ‘Hole.’ It managed to be comedic and absurd at the same time, with degrees of relatability and wackiness with some off the wall characterisations. The cast were represented on stage as actors, some visibly recognisable as members of today’s society, people with interesting characters, some dressed stereotypically, some craving attention and some with vulnerability; all very thought provoking. The overall impression for me possibly was that the author, Tim Parkes had directed a theatrical piece that was about desire, exploration of designs of what people can see and interpretation of what they want to see or be.

Well done to the cast and crew and thank you for inviting me.

 

 

 

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