Reviewed by Tess Humphrey, (presented by David Brennan)
So firstly what did you feel about the set for shed?
Tess: I thought it was very good, it was very evocative i felt because it was all made up of all the planks just so minimalist but very professional. You could actually smell the wood which was very good, it was intimate in this sense drawing you in.
I like the fact that due to the seating on all three sides of the performing area you really felt you made up the walls of the shed.
I tell you whats good was the way that Tom Crowley (writer & director) brings in the outside town into the script. He sets it up really well, making it not to blatant but you get such a clear idea of whats going on in the outside town.
I know that Shed had an original soundtrack, i was wondering what you felt this brought to the production, if anything?
I really, really enjoyed the original soundtrack, I’ve just written brilliant in great big letters across my notebook. It was going on being very kind of mellow and tonal when the old man was on stage, and it was almost like dialogue the way it complimented his mute actions. There was that shocking event at the end of act one, which i forbidden to mention, but it was so bombastic i went through your heart and you felt it.
Especially in that close space you could feel the seating itself.
I was so shocked that something i never even seen in a theatre before, it was brilliantly done.
Really well done i have to agree with you there. So lets got onto the story line, written by Tom Crowley who is brilliant i must say wrote our radio production of matchstick man last year now moving onto the drama barn with shed. What did you think of the storyline?
I thought it was very original, what i liked about it most was how all the characters feel the shed is their own personal hiding space which i thought was extremely original. Bits of it were sort of Alan Ayckbourn-esque , buts that’s probably to be expected in most theatre. I was a tiny bit confused at some points, but that’s just tiny little adjoining words that was missing from the script however I thought the dialogue was incredibly naturalistic though.
I found that the script and staging lent itself to a very claustrophobic atmosphere, which really helped you believe you were in a shed. I know from interviewing Tom earlier that he wanted to get this across and i definitely felt it.So what did you think of the twist at the end of act 1?
I thought it was over, and really didn't know where it could go from there. I was completely stunned that it could be developed from there, but act 2 was really worth coming back for with people sitting around me saying they think they were considering going home because it was quite late and very cold. But act 2 was very well thought out, wrapping everything up in a way you could credit it could have from act 1. With the end of act 1 being something that is one of my big theatre moments of all time.
The interval was definitely need to recover from the end of act 1. Trust me the ending is brilliant. It really shocks you.
In terms of the cast audience members described Luke Malkin as ‘enthralling and funny’ and Rebecca Darmody seen as one of the favorites as well. People were really admiring of the way she could bring humor to a female role because a lot of female roles are played all lovely and stoical. I was prepared not to like her at first but i really got into her through her performance.
May i just get some last closing comments of you?
I think Shed and Tom Crowley in particular is proof of what I’ve long thought. That theatre is best left in the hands of the young people, rating it 9/10 as its absolutely fantastic!
And you can hear the original review (along with live music and comments from cast member Luke Malkin and an interview with with one of the most important figures in 20th century radio broadcasting, Charles Chilton) in YorWorld on the ((URY PLAYER)) here.
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