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Show: THE KENNETH BRANAGH AWARDS FOR NEW DRAMA WRITING (at the Windsor Fringe 2022)
Society: Windsor Fringe
Venue: The Old Court, St Leonards Road, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 3BL
Credits: Various
Type: Sardines
Author: Frank Kaye
Performance Date: 07/10/2022
THE KENNETH BRANAGH AWARDS FOR NEW DRAMA WRITING (at the Windsor Fringe 2022)
Frank Kaye | 10 Oct 2022 15:04pm
Black Forest by Valerie O’Connor (5 stars)
Person of Interest by Michael Pearcy (5 stars)
The Exhibit by Euan Mumford (4 stars)
This is the sixth time I have reviewed the performance of the three finalists of The Kenneth Branagh Awards for new drama writing. Thankfully we are now back to normal after the difficulties of the pandemic…and what a fabulous group of three plays for the final! They were completely different in format, style, and presentation but all were riveting.
The first was a single hander, Black Forest by Valerie O’Connor which was directed by Amanda Noar and starred Jackie Pulford. Jackie was sat between a desk and a bed, dressed in a simple, one-colour costume, signalling her age with grey hair but unable to cover her sparking personality. This last was the strength of a compelling performance in which she described how she ended up in prison and regaled us with tales of life inside. We had to slightly suspend belief as she told us how she murdered her husband of fifty years. The device was Black Forest gateaux laced with glass which her husband could not resist. She seemed satisfied that he was gone and had no problem with being incarcerated for doing it.
Jackie’s performance was enhanced by an Irish accent which somehow made her seem a lovely person. She gave the sensation of having been trapped for fifty years and was now released despite being in prison. As she changed gear to move on to another story, she moved the desk to be in front of her and the lighting was changed slightly. This was clever but gradually became distracting as the movement of desk and lighting became a feature of the remainder of the show. She did make use of the bed later and used the pillow as a comforting mechanism – to good effect.
She moved on to tell us about her friend who had been caught smuggling drugs from Brazil. We became engaged with the fortunes of this lady including her success in convincing the guards that she was pregnant. The story of events surrounding the characters was compelling and this causes the viewers to realise that this was superb playwriting. Valerie O’Connor, in her speech for best writer award, alluded to the pleasure she was finding as creating drama became a greater part of her life.
Amanda Noar’s direction was excellent as was evident from Jackie’s comments to me afterwards. Single handers are always a challenge for directors and the trick is to find the hook for the audience – in this case Jackie’s ebullient personality!
The second play was a tour-de-force of storytelling, driven by the performance of the central character, played by Peter Saracen. He was abusive from the start but when told to sit down and tell his story by the excellent Avena Mansergh-Wallace as the policewoman, he did so. She kept coming back throughout the play with more questions and Peter’s character began to unravel. Karen Mcaffrey played his long-suffering wife, and she did an excellent job of highlighting his decline. He lost his job and took to drink and increasingly used the ‘f’ word to great effect. His daughter, played by Rebecca Bugeja, had a nice softening effect which prevented the play losing focus.
This was a beautifully written piece by Mike Pearcy which captured the reality of being confronted by evidence that could have an innocent explanation. Anthony Shrubsall directed with a great clarity of purpose, and it was clear his actors understood exactly what to do – and what not to do. This was perfectly exemplified at the end when Peter Saracen’s character was open-mouthed at the denouement – but said nothing.
The third play was a clever piece of writing by Euan Mumford which set the audience in a relationship with a seated character surrounded by rope. It turned out that the character was trapped and could only be released by another character coming to take his or her place. The play worked beautifully with three of the characters taking their place in the chair and the fourth having fun both examining the ‘exhibits’ and moving the chair to her house.
Tom Avann was excellent as the first occupier of the chair and established the rules with a fresh, outgoing characterisation. We completely understood the rules by the time Immy Brutt was entrapped in the chair. She, in contrast to Tom’s character, hated being trapped and also demonstrated how the chair removed the person’s individuality, including their name. Along comes Kiera Joyce to have great fun exemplifying all the ways in which the individual was trapped. Finally Joe Rourke arrives to be entrapped in the chair, releasing Immy’s character to go forward into the final scene.
This scene takes place in Tom’s character’s house and the play slightly loses focus as the entrapping chair has gone. It becomes clear that the original occupant of the chair had created it and tricked others into using it. Despite this slight reservation this play was a superb example of how drama can create a situation that is intriguing for an audience.
Anna Wellman was the director and clearly understood how the play worked in relation to the audience. This performance was a very clear example of how all the elements of the production – writer, director, actors, and backstage staff contribute to the success.
Overall, this was probably the best of the six Kenneth Branagh Awards I have reviewed. It was outstanding from beginning to end and all concerned should feel proud.
I would award the best performance on the night to Person of Interest. Beautiful play beautifully presented!
Finally, we cannot finish without noting the years of dedication to the Windsor Fringe provided by Ann Trewartha, who sadly died this year. It seems clear that this event will live on as a fitting memorial to her.