By Gabriella Adaway, Second Year Theatre and Amelie Patel, Second Year English Literature
Night two of the Spotlights' New Writing Festival showcase continued to prove the gripping talent of new writers within the society seen in the opening night. Yet, the second night of three short plays featured more hard-hitting moments and themes that had the audience emotionally clenched until the last beat.
First, its over to Amelie Patel to take us on her psyched perspective.
The University of Bristol’s New Writing Festival made a formidable return this spring. It was held at The Island, a unique arts facility that was formerly a police station. As I was escorted through a maze of stairways, and a courtyard to the venue, the atmosphere was suitably set for radical and impressive student theatre.
Night two consisted of a showcase of 3 short plays that were written, performed and directed by students at UOB. As a result, there was a sense of joy and community to be found as actors and audience alike mingled by the bar and the performers shook out their nerves before taking the stage.
The first play was called ‘12 Steps’, by Lily Walker and Maddy Morgan. It hinged upon the formation of an unlikely friendship between two isolated characters, using the comedy of tap dancing to help us engage with the serious themes of alcoholism and child neglect. The actors were brilliant at bringing it to life - I was particularly taken by the charisma of Ivan’s character which kept the piece on its toes.
Now over to Gabriella Adaway on her similar thoughts on the first piece:
12 Steps, a piece where tap dancing meets Alcoholics Anonymous and we, as the audience, are taken on a journey of slowing meeting a wealth of eccentric characters to the play’s climax where the true identity of ‘David’ was revealed. The piece was full of energy and laughs, but the real comedic essence of the play was the character’s portrayals. Katie Mercer was a real stand out as an overly posh and outlandish character who had chosen a career in Life Coaching, often making nods and eyes at the audience. Then matched with the energy of Spike Pritchard, the pair were incredibly engaging, they absorbed the stage.
Following was Marina and Mel, co-directed by Harriet Leadbetter, which explored the theme of loss as we meet Marina and Mel in an awkward encounter at a coffee shop and thus invite us into Mel’s home where they attempt to discuss the death of their daughter and friend. Lily Steed and Madeline Nash were able to perfectly execute their roles and bounced off one another. Nash being a sweet yet forceful performer against Steed who achieved playing a bolder and more confident role. We met Milo Gray’s character halfway through the piece, a slimy ex-teacher who now dates Mel. Gray, similar to the others, performed the role excellently, from his movement, to his stance and his voice, we were honestly grossed out by him from the start. Overall, the piece delivered on the comedy, heartful moments and was wonderfully acted and written, something hard to achieve for a 15 minute piece.
Amelie adds some final words on Marina and Mel:
I was gripped by the exploration of the charged space of unspoken thoughts and feelings between them, watching them probe the huge, unspeakable topic of their past before it the final tell all of what had happened to Chloe. Mel was particularly fabulous in her portrayal of a mother trying to deal with the grief of loss over time.
Back to Gabriella on the final piece, Mould:
Finally, was Mould, written by Iola King-Alleyne and co-directed by Iola and EJ Ojimiwe. Similar to the last, it is hard to explore harder themes in the matter of 15 to 20 minutes and yet somehow Iola did just that. Played by Amelie Friess and Maya Chawla as mother and daughter, the piece explored the tested relationship of the two and the effects of mental health through the metaphor of the mould. Many moments throughout were particularly powerful with the audience being educated on the real-world effects of mould in homes where Chawla enters the audience and is narrating over a sequence of Friess character painting on mould. The performances were incredibly emotional and yet throughout they still made us laugh. All in all, a brilliant short play.
To conclude on Mould and some final words by Amelie:
Mould by Iola King-Alleyne was a poignant piece. It relied on a single white bed sheet, representative of a wall, which Amelie Friess, possibly suffering from schizophrenia was convinced was infested with harmful mould. Mould has been a crucial topic this calendar year, with Epigrams' acclaimed ‘Break the Mould’ campaign. I liked how it explored the dangerous effects of mould, whilst also using it as a metaphor for other social issues in Britain, like rising rent and travel costs. Moreover, it made a clever commentary on the state of national affairs, and how overwhelming life can feel as an individual directly impacted by them. The actors gave outstanding performances, and overall did an incredible job of tackling these important topics.
Overall, the breath and talent of the showcase blew me away. The NWF is a testament to the outstanding level of performers, writers and set designers there are currently at Bristol university. It is safe to say that student theatre is truly alive and kicking!
Did you go and watch this years NWF Showcase?
Edited by Felix Glanville, Second Year History
