Scarborough/Derby.
HIDDEN
by Laura Lindsay and Peter Carruthers.
Stephen Joseph Theatre (McCarthy auditorium) Westborough YO11 1JW 17 May.
7,45pm.
TICKETS: 01723 370541.
www.sjt.uk.com
then Derby Theatre 15 Theatre Walk Westfield Shopping Complex St Peters Quarter DE1 2NF 23 May 2014.
8pm.
TICKETS: 01332 593939.
www.derbytheatre.co.uk
Runs 1hr 15min No interval.
Review: William Russell 12 April at Cockpit Theatre London.
Funny, sad and out of the ordinary.
Hidden has been touring since it opened to considerable, and deserved, acclaim on the Fringe at last year’s Edinburgh Festival. I caught up with it on its last night in London, and there are a couple of tour dates left.
There are six characters, three men, three women, whose separate lives gradually come together. All are played by the two actors who have written the play. These characters are outsiders, people unhappy in the world they inhabit, but not without hope that they can escape somewhere better.
The writing is polished, the playing admirable. Yet it does get a little confusing occasionally as to which character you are watching – the checkout girl with an obesity problem, the wife with a husband who is up to no good, the man whose just had an erotic dream that casts doubt on his sexuality, the commuter who does the wrong thing with the woman sitting opposite, the couple on a first date who throw each other hopelessly off-balance, the girl who has not had a man in ages and is, as they say, gagging for it and scaring the wits out of the man at the canteen lunch table.
This is no reflection on the playing, which is very good indeed, nor on the cleverly designed scenery which switches the locations from Tesco checkout to commuter train seamlessly. But a little more clarity in the writing would help.
The characters tend to be different facets of the same person, perhaps partly because they are played by the same actors. Either way, Hidden, the first play the couple have written together, bodes well for future collaborations. It is to be hoped more tour dates will be found.
Colin, Gareth, James: Peter Carruthers.
Claire, Nina, Cara: Laura Lindsay.
Director: Helen Parry.
Designer: Alex Swarbrick.
Lighting: Mark Creamer.
Sound: Owen Raffert.
Composer: Harri Chambers.
Dramaturg: Martin Jameson.
2014-04-13 23:52:33
