The Wasp

It is a brave amateur company that takes on a sinister, emotionally complex duologue lasting one and a half hours- and pulls it off! The intimate venue of the Green Room Theatre was ideal as it enhanced the tension building and claustrophobia created on stage. The set, designed and constructed by Toby and Dan Silver, was innovative with the opening trucked trellis screens masking the naturalistic living room set interior behind with excellent detailed props and pictures sourced by Linden Van Clute. The creation of the café with drapes back projected with a film of a café interior worked well and the transition was slick with stage crew dressed as baristas revealing the set behind. The use of a television representing the view into the garden was particularly effective, signalling the sky darkening as time moved on and then the surreal pouring of blood at the fatal climax.

This was a well-rehearsed piece and director Sasha Silver  brought out all the nuances of the changing emotional states of the two women, as layer upon layer of the deception, lies and abuses of their shared history are revealed. Each revelation landed as it should - one profound shock after another building smoothly to the surprising ending. The two actors created a powerful and profoundly disturbing world.

Siobhan Walker gave an extraordinary performance as Heather. In the opening scene she was most unsettling for the audience as we could sense her layer of artifice as she began to manipulate Carla. Her restrained delivery during her series of lengthy monologues revealing her childhood trauma was outstanding. Her moments of stillness, shifts in breathing and vocal tone were heartbreaking but remained subtle.

Kirsty Hudson as Carla sustained as estuary accent effectively alongside the additional challenge of portraying a heavily pregnant woman who becomes strapped to a chair! Her confusion felt believable and building desperation at her capture was authentic and underplayed. An excellent performance.

Contemporary costumes revealed the characters’ contrasting lifestyles well. Carla’s slicked back ponytail and minimal makeup with a football shirt straining over her bump contrasted with the white tailored suit and long curled hair of Heather . Her sterile environment of all white walls and furniture enhanced the theme of the play as did her costume change to red trousers and lipstick for her tragic finale. Music was also used thematically. I particularly enjoyed the use of The Killing Moon By Echo and the Bunneymen in the final transition with the lyric ‘the killing time unwillingly mine’ echoing around the auditorium.

This was a beautifully directed and acted piece full of emotion and sensitivity. An outstanding production. The audience remained seated after the final moment, in shock at what they had witnessed and profoundly moved. As is appropriate for a 21st century audience experiencing a production exploring sexual assault, posters were displayed with helpline website addresses. This is a production that will live long in the audience’s memory both for its hard-hitting emotional impact and the impressive degree of skill required to create it.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.