By Erina Mannan, Third Year English
‘I just find it sad that there aren’t really any films about best friends or whatever. Like where friendship is the total love story. I think this love, in this room, is so great. I just wish I could write it down’.
Last week, I had the pleasure of seeing Cherish the Orange’s production, ‘Fruitcake’, written and directed by Dulcie Johnson and Tildy Paisner. The slice-of-life play is set during the Covid-19 pandemic and revolves around 5 university flatmates who grapple with the lockdown, their ambitions, and their evolving friendships. As May, played by Emma Morgan, says ‘it’s kind of a love poem to uni and friendships and funny moments growing up’.
Fruitcake was obviously written with a lot of thought and devotion, as the dialogue and narrative had a perfect balance of sincere moments and hilarious jokes. The play was interwoven with monologues, one from each character which served as beautifully-performed vignettes of their psyches.
The final monologue, performed by Honey Gawkin-Hopkins, who plays Bea was particularly touching and poetic, summing up her character arc and reflecting on the necessity of friendships. She performs the final spoken words in the play: ‘and I will harbour my discomfort to stay. I’d rather be here - with you, anyway’.
Each actor morphed into their character, animating the play with warmth and believability. Watching the play felt like you were in the same living room as the characters, sharing in friendships that seem to be years old. Every actor showcased their versatility by multi-rolling and immersing themselves in the physical theatre. Regularly, the actors broke the fourth wall to address the audience.
This was executed with brilliant energy, changing up the tempo of the piece to hold the audience’s attention. I particularly enjoyed the transitions between each scene and how they tightened the flow of the production. Since there was only one stage door, arranging the exits and entrances of each scene is a delicate task.
Yet each scene was glued together by movement sequences or comical outros to ensure an energetic pace. By the play’s end I was shocked that an hour and fifty minutes had passed - I could have easily watched the performance for another thirty minutes at least.
Technically, the lighting and music nurtured the tone and atmosphere on stage. The spotlights and coloured washes structured the play well. Meanwhile, classic tunes from Nirvana, Doja Cat, and Olivia Rodrigo appeared throughout to complement the action and dialogue on stage.
The play closed with a short film projected onto the back wall accompanied by a voice-over that everyone in the theatre - including the actors - watched. Thus Fruitcake concluded with everyone in the theatre sharing the same peaceful moment.
For me, the play is restricted due to its lack of diversity and its comment on the Covid pandemic. All the characters were caucasian and spoke with received pronunciation accents. Although the play is largely anecdotal, I found that the casting resulted in only one perspective of university and the coronavirus pandemic.
Additionally, none of the production team or cast had experienced university during the pandemic, and when I consulted students who had, they suggested that university at the time was more nuanced than presented in Fruitcake, especially for those of different ethnicities and for those who were less privileged. For instance, not all students could afford to remain at university whilst the world was shut down and they couldn’t work their jobs.
It seemed as if the production was centred around the team’s current pool of friends which provides a great starting point, but in the future, I would like to see Cherish the Orange take a more intersectional approach to their work, as the production team is truly talented at their craft.
All in all, the production came together wonderfully in a combination of naturalism and absurd comedy. The writing and acting were near faultless, although the play could be pushed further to become more inclusive.
The technical aspects melded together to bring life onto the stage. Cherish the Orange aims to take Fruitcake to Edinburgh Fringe so follow them on Instagram and support their journey to the big stage!
All Photos Courtsey of Erina Mannan
