Last night they transferred from their usual Playhouse Studio venue to take the main stage at the Everyman, and the programme contained two short plays, stand-up comedy, an extract from a comedy sketch show and a presentation by a visual artist.
Firstly, Sarah Van Parys directed Inference, a play by Michael Rumney in which Sean Patrick Croke and Claire Crossland play two couples – one from the past and one from the present. Interwoven scenes reveal both links that bind the two couples across the decades and draw parallels in their experiences. Why were there pages missing from an inherited diary and is it possible to do the same to a modern blog? Some of us feel the need to leave an indelible record of our thoughts while others prefer to forget. Crossland and Croke both give compelling performances in a piece that has more weight to it than you’d think possible for its brevity.
In The Undesirable Man by Dave Griffiths we meet Mick Ledwich, playing an unfortunate job-seeker being interviewed by a Job Centre advisor, Jay Podmore, who is using an ingenious piece of software that not only matches applicants to the perfect vacancy but predicts just how successful they will be – or not – thereby cutting out the need to bother applying at all. A piece with an amusing twist in the tail, it afforded opportunities for both actors to demonstrate their considerable ability for comic timing, as well as Podmore’s particular forte for vocal and facial gymnastics. Witty, sharp and cleanly presented under the snappy direction of Peter Mitchelson.
We saw an extract from Greg Bike’s Play With Myself at the last Scene Change and were treated to another segment this time. Liam Hale and Dominic Davies again play the father and son with a passion for theatre, who appear to be engaged in a hilarious contest to outdo each other in overacting. Aided and abetted by Rio Matchett, David Paes and Sean Stokes, this is very funny material that makes us want to see the full show. We can if we travel to Edinburgh next month, where they are heading with a little help from the Scene Change bursary they won in May.
Winning the bursary this time is Rachel Slater, who is also heading to the Edinburgh Fringe with her stand-up comedy performance. Rachel’s deadpan delivery and lugubrious appearance are something to behold and somehow we actually feel really sad about that goldfish even though we’re laughing about it. There is so much stand-up on the circuit that individuality is a must, and Rachel Slater has individuality to spare.
Forming an interlude in the regular performance pieces was a brief presentation from visual artist Niamh McGee. Having recently graduated from Liverpool JMU, Niamh has produced a body of work in the form of screen prints based on photographs from a found album. She has enlarged and reproduced the monochrome images of scenes from people’s lives and “interrupted” the moment captured by overlaying shapes and marks over the surface. All of the work is for sale. The slot here took the form of a Q&A, with a selection of the screen prints hung in the centre of the stage. I later pondered whether accompanying this with projected images of her work may have added impact, although the full range of her collection was available on display after the show.
Scene Change is gaining momentum and, with continued publicity and word of mouth its audience is growing. At this rate, hopefully, it may become too big to return to the Studio. Keep an eye open for the next instalment and read the flyer attached for details of where you can catch up with the performers from this show.
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