Held
Written by Joe Ward Munrow
Directed by Lorne Campbell
(8th
November - 1st December 2012)
Reviewed by
When faced with a new work there tend to be extra questions that you
ask. Where is the writer from? Why is the piece being staged? And any
number of other seemingly irrelevant enquiries fuelled by the fact that
you could potentially be taken out of your comfort zone. Held
has given Liverpool Playhouse a perfect reply. Joe Ward Munrow is currently
the theatre’s Writer on Attachment and has already been commanding
an element of respect. The theme - Alzheimer’s disease - is something
that will affect more and more of the population as life expectancy increases,
and yet surprisingly remains shrouded by an element of mystery. Was the
unusual formation of vacant chairs on stage going to provide any explanation
or answers?
In the flash of a light bulb Mary (brilliantly portrayed by Pauline Daniels)
is faced by her sons. Alan Stocks as Simon and Ged McKenna as David, who
try to untangle a web that sits very deeply in Mary’s mind. Constant
evolution of the simple set gave a truly unique fourth dimension to the
whole performance even though the characters remained ever present. Emotional
reminiscence and description steered the audience through laughter, pain
and at one point quite literally to tears. Maybe this was what Shakespeare
or even Chekhov would be writing if they were alive today in the 21st
century? Certainly the powerful monologues and an incredible simultaneous
dialogue scene might suggest that to be the case.
With Held, Ward Munrow has created a complexity that is still easy to
comprehend. Whether colour of language or religious reference actually
added anything significant may be up for debate but this wasn’t
by any means Thora Hird or Carla Lane. It is certainly new work in the
fullest most original meaning of the term and may well leave you asking
‘Why don’t more mainstream national theatres take the step
to nurture promise and potential of this quality?’ I got the feeling
that the esteemed cast had both enjoyed and taken something positive from
the experience and would agree with me. I sincerely hope many more will
get the chance. I suggest everyone should give themselves an opportunity
to be a judge of that.
|