Review: 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf'

By James Metcalf

York Dramasoc’s new production of Edward Albee’s off the wall psychological play ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ is quite possibly the best performance I have ever seen in the barn.

Produced by Issy Smith, this truly intriguing play is not what one might expect. Beginning with a domestic spat between history professor George (played by Jamie Oliver) and his wife (played by Ali Skamangas), the play soon degenerates from what, on the surface, appears to be essentially harmless repartee, into the verbal interplay of two psychologically damaged human beings.

Viewed from the eyes of the young biology professor known (but not named) as Nick (played by Rory Hern) and his brandy-addicted, painfully awkward and mouse-like wife Honey (played by Sophie Mann) who are visiting the older couple after a late night party, the audience similarly experience their subjective feelings of awkward involvement in what is clearly a personal exchange, as well as the obvious, voyeuristic thrill they experience as their hosts become increasingly vindictive and entertaining.

Of course, the evening cannot simply stagnate at this juncture of mingled discomfiture and self-conscious excitement, and, as the passage of time slips all too quickly through the fingers of the middle-aged George and Martha, the game they are playing with their young guests and with each other becomes ever more apparent, certain truths are revealed that turn byplay into the cruel scars left by the acts of surreptitious violence carried out by their hosts.

The title of the play is derived from the classic song ‘Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf’, and its central theme is the movement of time, which seems to be escaping the struggling professor, who is failing to take over the history department at the university in the small American town of New Carthage, and his wife, who’s marriage seems to be the product of George’s career-motivated desire (as she is the daughter of the university’s president). Reference is continually made to birthdays, the age difference between the couples, birth and death, and the tolling of bells, yet the emphasis is never over-stated, and the motifs of violence, sex, and the addiction and excess so often associated with the mid-twentieth-century provide the play with an extravagant multifocality, giving the audience a unique and captivating insight into the visceral reality of a tragically damaged marriage.

There is very little to detract from the brilliance of Dramasoc’s latest offering. The American accents of Skamangas, Hern, and Mann were flawless, the setting was deceptively provincial, delivering quite the scene of false security, and the acting of every cast member was truly staggering. If there was a standout performance, Ali Skamangas as the complex, troubled and self-conscious, but brash and hypersexual, Martha is without doubt the finest student acting I have ever seen. She is at once dramatic and occasionally very funny with her dry attacks on her husband; still, the use of the song as a tension building motif, the cyclical rhythm of the play’s three parts – beginning with a lull and rapidly building to an aggressive climax – and the blatant, waspish ferocity of each character as they turn on each other indiscriminately awards the audience for their attendance with dynamic and poignant performances from all concerned.

Not only is the play simultaneously full of the inherent tragedy of human life, and the comedy one is forced to employ to manage the pain of this experience, but it manages to capture this overwhelming devastation without descending into despair. With performances to match those of a professional standard, ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ is decidedly one to watch.

You can see ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ at York Dramabarn at 19.30 on Saturday and Sunday.

Review: 'Creditors' by August Strindberg

By independent URY reviewer, James Metcalf.

Perhaps August Strindberg is an unfamiliar name to most; I had certainly never heard of him, but the radio play of his creation ‘Creditors’, which will feature on University Radio York on Sunday 25th November, from 14:00 until 15:25 in the afternoon, changed all that.

Advertised as a ‘darkly comic and mature work of obsession, honour, and revenge’, ‘Creditors’ deals with the mania of a married artist named Adolph who waits impatiently for his ambitious and fiercely independent novelist wife to return. When he discovers that he is, in fact, suffering as a result of his anxiety and passionate yet resentful covetousness, he opens his life to a stranger, and finds that he has more suffering still to endure. This stranger uncovers the possibilities of infidelity, and future unhappiness, and Adolph is forced to confront these issues that had, unconsciously, already infiltrated his interior mind. In so doing, he questions his future with a woman whose heart is withheld and whose feelings are consequently unknown, and finds that the happiness he thought he had was never truly there at all – at least, not as he remembers it.

Of course, a play such as this focuses on the familiar themes of male and female relations, rife with sexual and social domination, the complexities of human emotion, and the hidden, ulterior agendas of all those involved. Still, the student play, directed by Lewis Gray and based on David Greig’s 2008 version which premièred at London’s Donmar Warehouse, casts a new light onto this dark subject matter; a light that is filled with both the reflective surface of wry comedy, and the shadow of tragedy that claws at the whole of human life.

Gray’s adaptation of Strindberg’s ‘Creditors’ for radio stars Ryan Lane, Dan Wood, and Georgia Bird – all of whom are eminently professional and extraordinarily engaging. The combination of these student voice actors with a script so full of the clefts and peaks of individual experience transforms what could have been a dry recital of a piece of theatre free of modern relevance, into an intriguing and thoroughly appropriate play, full of fine acting, carefully honed direction, and, of course, the written word of a Swedish master of the tragicomedy.

Though the prose may be as full of metaphor and surreptitious magnificence as one would expect of the age in which it was written, and though the characters are a relativly unknown in today’s age of pragmatic professionalism, the driving motif is the same – that when men are together, their wives become the topic of questionable conversation, that marriage is continually answerable to the subjective speculation of self-conscious voyeurs, and that hidden lives are, in fact, ever surprising and hardly ever what one expects.

The Festival of Drama currently taking place on University Radio York renovates an already innovative radio station, and this is epitomised whole-heartedly by ‘Creditors’. The quick wit of the writing is complemented by the evenly matched vocal nuances of Lane, Wood, and Bird, and the dexterous direction of Gray which hides the themes just long enough to keep the listener wrapt with unavoidable attention. This play is deceptively simple, both in its acting and production. The challenge of tempering human tragedy with barbed comedy is carried off so well and so professionally that one believes anyone could do it. Perhaps this is its greatest triumph; it is neither overbearing nor overtly difficult to comprehend, it is purely enjoyable radio drama at its best.

'Creditors' will be broadcast on Sunday the 25th of November at 14:00. See our facebook event for more details. 

Review: 'The New World Order: Part 2: 1651'

By independent URY reviewer Ben Bason.

Part 2 of URY’s epic drama ‘The New World Order’ is even more passionate, even more dramatic and even more brilliant than the previous episode. And that’s saying something. Set 6 years after Part 1, the alien Holekhor race from a ‘New World’ turn from allies to enemies as their presence in England adds to the high political and religious tensions of the Civil War, culminating in a grand finale of epic proportions.

We are introduced to the Dommon’el – the wonderfully evil ruler of the Holekhor, played by David Malinsky – who arrives in England and ends up putting both Dhon Do and his son in awkward positions by furthering the Holekhor’s presence in England, leading to messy consequences as the two cultures clash dramatically.

The stand-out performance of this concluding episode is without doubt that of Toby King as Daniel. The character starts off as a naive youngster very much in the shadow of his father, but the story quickly turns into somewhat of a coming-of-age narrative for the boy, as he develops into an independently-minded adult. He is given power as a Holekhor commander by the Dommon’el early on in the episode and must choose where his loyalties lie as the events of the story unfold. The passionate anger King employs to present Daniel’s inner frustration is just right, and brings the tension of the drama almost to boiling point. Praise must be given to the director here, John Wakefield, who creates exactly the right tone for these scenes.

Wakefield’s production is also incredible – the range of different settings to which he can transport the listener is remarkable, as the sound effects create a world of which the audience is almost a part. The ambush of a train is particularly graphic, despite existing merely in audio form. My only slight quibble is the sound of the footsteps; often characters converse whilst walking, yet the pace of their steps is often slightly too high, losing a bit of realism. Alas, a very small issue that doesn’t take away from the majority of the drama which sounds stunning.

James Whittle’s score is again a resounding success, with the impeccable dramatic timing of instrumental stabs adding that extra cinematic element to the most appropriate of dramatic scenes. The music also provides the backdrop to some of the most emotional encounters, such as that of Daniel and his father at the end of the episode. Having been separated for almost the whole two hours of drama, the pair’s reunion is permeated with sparse strings that make the scene extremely touching. These two, almost forced by their situation on to different sides of a war, are finally together again as the episode draws to a close.

Part 2 offers a slight comic element which was not present in the previous episode – the still immature King Charles (Ryan Hall) provides some light relief from the drama of the unfolding conflict, as he attempts to give Daniel (whom he still refers to as ‘Boy Troll) some life-lessons. It’s a very funny interlude which is certainly very welcome in the course of the narrative.

So, if you thought ‘The New World Order’ couldn't get any better, you were wrong. The second part is much more fraught with emotions – the performances of the actors convince us that the loyalties they hold are real, and we can’t help but feel attached to them all. With whom are we meant to sympathise? There is no definitive answer: over the two parts all of the characters appeal to our emotions, even the sneering King Charles. And it is this which makes ‘The New World Order’ so captivating and a truly staggering piece of radio drama.

You only have one chance to catch the concluding episode of ‘The New World Order’ – tune in this Sunday at 2 – across campus on 1350am and online at www.ury.org.uk.

Review: The Hunchback of Notre Dam

By Alex Gordon,

Upon entering the near-1000-year-old Selby Abbey, I could not help but think that, other than the York Minster itself, Belt Up could not have chosen a better local landmark for their production of ‘Hunchback.’ Jethro Compton (Producer, Writer and co-Artistic Director) has created a very condensed adaptation of Victor Hugo’s epic gothic novel. This is no bad thing, as Compton has taken the core characters, themes and events of the story to tell a simplified version that tells of Quasimodo’s tortured, unrequited love for La Esmeralda, whilst retaining a strong element of darkness.

Despite having an astounding back-drop to be performed in, Compton’s script still relies on the power of language to tell a story; the words of the characters conjuring up verbal images for the audience. One particularly poignant image is Esmeralda’s description of love between two people being akin to that of two grains of sand in a dessert briefly settling next to each other after a storm, before another gust of wind blows them apart again. Whether images such as these are lifted from Hugo’s work or are Compton’s own creation, they are to the script’s credit.

The play however, does stray into unchartered territory away from the novel, as Quasimodo, both as participant and puppeteer, begins to put words in the mouths of the characters and manipulate the story towards his own design. Though an interesting twist, I am not sure it needed to go down this route, as the original material is dark and harrowing enough to still be dramatic.

The actors, being only four in number, have their work cut out for them. As well as playing the central characters of Quasimodo (Sam Donnelly), Archdeacon Frollo (Dominic Allen), La Esmeralda (Serena Manteghi) and Captain Phoebus (Oliver Tilney), the latter three also multi-roll as a masked-menagerie of fools, gypsies and other characters.

I wasn’t sure about this ‘masked’ aspect of the performance. It seemed that in order to fully re-create the ‘feast of fools’, they needed more actors to fill the space in front of and around the audience. Although I am not against breaking the fourth wall, the way in which they did this didn’t add anything to the story and seemed to create more discomfort in the audience than it relieved.

However, they were, for the most part, all proficient in their central rolls. Notably, Donnelly’s Quasimodo was a convincing transformation into a deformed man desperately longing for human affection, his physicalization altering between a vulnerable obsequiousness and an alarming, animal-like swiftness. Allen’s malicious, puritanical Frollo, in his sexual craving for Esmeralda, served as a chilling reminder that human deformities can be all the greater on the inside.

There is a fifth performer however; one who never speaks yet whose presence is always felt. Just as the lives of the characters in Hugo’s novel revolve around the world of Notre Dame Cathedral, so do the performances revolve around and depend on the magnificent structure of the Abbey to breathe life into the story.

Music also plays an integral part in creating the atmosphere with an original underscore and songs by Gavin Whitworth, combined with choral performances by the Abbey Belles and Selby Abbey Choir. A haunting touch, especially in the respective surroundings. The songs though, all sung by Esmeralda, didn’t do anything to progress the plot or feel necessary in light of the play’s other musical components.

Truly, Belt Up’s ‘Hunchback’ is a testament to the power of a piece of theatre to be transformed by its surroundings. There is an imbalance however, when the play relies too heavily on its surroundings to be a success. Were it to be performed in any other setting than one as grand or archaic as the Abbey, I am not sure how well it would translate.

Having said that, it is fantastic and also important to see theatre performed in places other than theatres, and the extent to which they have attracted a local as well as a student audience is proof that there is a public interest for it.

Listen out for Alex's full audio review on the ((URY PLAYER)).

Review: 'The New World Order: Part 1: 1645'

From independent URY reviewer Ben Bason,

Before reading Ben's review check out the Youtube trailer here!

If it’s done effectively, radio can be a powerful medium for drama. Without the benefit of vision, sounds must paint a mental image that pulls the listener out of reality and throws them into a fictional world. The New World Order, URY’s more ambitious drama to date, certainly succeeds.

Based on the novel by Ben Jeapes, the drama constitutes a layering of realistic sound effects, convincing acting and a specially-composed musical score that transports us back to the Civil War; with guns firing, men shouting and a dramatic instrumental underscore, you could be forgiven for thinking this is the soundtrack to a Hollywood film. The audio imagery is so vivid it you can picture the action taking place right in front of your eyes and the pivotal moments are enhanced by appropriate music courtesy of James Whittle, providing that extra tension, tenderness or drama that the key scenes need. 

Set in 1645, The New World Order mixes history with science-fiction, as the Holekhor, an alien race from a ‘New World’, emerge in London during the English Civil War. I know what you’re thinking, sounds a bit Doctor Who-ish, But strangely, it works. We’re introduced to a Holekhor called Dhon Do (Luke De Belder), who returns to our world from the parallel world of the Holekhor to lead an invasion of his people. But since he’d last been here, the human woman he loved has given birth to his child, and things get complicated. De Belder delivers a strong performance and, along with the other actors playing Holekhor parts, employs an accent that’s somewhere between Russian and Polish. The decision to have the characters speak in this was perhaps not a wise one as there were a few occasional slips and although it’s an effective way to distinguish the race from the human characters on radio, it is easy to mistake the race as merely foreign, rather than other-worldly.  Other convincing performances came from Joe Williams as the troubled Oliver Cromwell and Ryan Hall as a nasty young Prince Charles. The whole cast excel themselves and combine to produce an outstanding performance.

‘The New Wold Order’ is not merely fantasy – it’s quite reliant on political and social themes as well as the other-worldly narrative of the Holekhor. This is really where John Wakefield, who adapted the text from the original novel, has succeeded; with some editing the drama could have worked as a significantly shorter piece, but we would have missed out on some of the different strands of the story; the political frustration of Cromwell (Joe Williams), the split loyalties of Dhon Do and the developing relationship between Prince Charles and Dhon Do’s son Daniel (Toby King) – all essential ingredients that make the drama what it is.

The script is excellently written and contains many of the lines from the original novel but it’s in the intimate scenes between two or three characters that it comes into its own – the words exact just the right amount of poignancy and combine beautifully with the orchestral soundtrack. Only once or twice did the script disappoint, with historical questionability – would they really have said “what the hell?” in the times of Cromwell? I think not.

The audio mixing is also occasionally confusing. The level of the actors’ speech sometimes tends to be too low, and although the sound effects really enhance the reality of scenes, they do at times overpower the lines.

Despite these slight technical hiccups, 'The New World Order: Part 1: 1645'  is a truly remarkable achievement from URY Drama. It’s a well-paced progression through the emotions of the story and truly gripping. The original score is the cherry on the top, creating appropriate atmosphere and making the drama sound extremely professional. 

So catch 'The New World Order' while you can – it’s only broadcast once and won’t be available online afterwards. Make sure you tune in on Sunday at 2pm for the first part: you can’t afford to miss it.

Find out more about the production on our event page here!

YorWorld: 4th November 2012

Rebecca Elson presents this week's show where we find out about the Aesthetica Film Festival as Laura Stratford speaks to the organisers, look at Dramasoc's latest production 'The Comedians', a student written production gracing the barn this week and we  review the much anticipated 'Illuminating York'. 

Also our acclaimed previews, this year up for another National Award Nomination, focus on Happily Ever After Society's production of 'The Little Shop of Horrors'!.

Hear the programme now on the ((URY PLAYER)) !

And make sure you tune in next week for our own original drama 'The New World Order: Part 1: 1645 - next Sunday at 2. 

Review: 'The Comedians'

By Alex Gordon,

Before and before reading my review have a listen to URY's exclusive preview of the production.

The Comedians marks the second piece of student writing performed this term in The Drama Barn. Written and directed by Elliot Kinnear, it also marks his second full-length play to be staged at university, the first being the psychological thriller Defenestrated in 2011; a fine achievement for a third-year student.

The play takes its name from the centuries-old Italian art form of ‘Comedia dell’arte,’ a style of theatre that involves using masked ‘stock’ characters combined with clowning and improvisation to tell a story.

DramaSoc’s description of it as a Comedia dell’arte piece is somewhat of a misrepresentation as it is not, strictly speaking, a piece that adheres to the art form. Rather it takes some of the ideas and characters from it to tell a new story of the author’s design. A story that, it must be said, is inventive, original and tragic.

The old man Pantalone, in order to save his new-born daughter’s life, strikes a deal with the Loki-like spirit, Sandrone. He must give Sandrone something in return – though we know not what – when he asks for it. This is essentially the driving force of the plot as we are introduced to a host of characters that become enmeshed in Sandrone’s schemes.

For a student piece, it is better written than most. Kinnear’s use of language for his characters is articulate, complex and well honed. The story structure, though slightly predictable in its nature, has enough twists and turns in the different lives of the characters to keep us involved until the final tragic revelation at the end of Act 2 - a moment worth waiting for

The play also exhibits ambitious stage-craft; stylistic masks and costumes, an ornately decorated set, full use of the Barn space, well-choreographed duels and arresting use of lighting all combine to provide a visual spectacle for the audience.

Balance however, is always difficult for a student writer to achieve satisfactorily. Just as I felt Paradise was too short in its duration, I thought The Comedians was too long for its finale to have the dramatic impact it deserved. Act 2 could have been much shorter altogether, and many of the characters had the habit of giving long-winded, repetitive explanations of the sum of events so far that caused any previously gathered momentum to grind to a halt.

The acting style of traditional Comedia dell’arte is heightened, bold, and exaggerated. Some actors threw themselves into it with real commitment, such as Peter Marshall as the malevolent Sandrone. Though some lines were lost through his mask, he exploited his vocal and physical capabilities to the full to create a truly frightening character. Peter Fisher as the honest Pierrot also gave what I thought was the most truthful and understated performance of the evening.

Though these two very different styles – one heightened, one naturalistic – suited the characters in question, I could not help but feel that many of the rest of the actors where not quite sure which they were going for, leaving them with an uneasy compromise between the two. It is the director’s job to redress this balance, and it felt as if it had not been dealt with sufficiently.

I would also liked to have seen more of what is implicit in the play’s title – comedy. The play had relatively few gags in the script, leaving it up to the actors to embellish it with their own inventions to varying success. Moments of tragedy can be all the more poignant when contrasted with moments of comedy.

Writers also need to bear in mind how much their audiences are prepared to sit-through before their attention begins to wane and it should be DramaSoc’s responsibility to ensure any student-written material that they produce is re-examined in cooperation with the writer to ensure that it has the potential to be as successful as it can be.

Though flawed, this is a play that shows potential both in itself and on the part of its writer. The strength of individual performances was perhaps variable among its cast, however, they worked well as a cohesive unit, just as a Comedia dell’arte troupe would, to bring it to life.

Hear Alex's full audio review tommorow at 2 in YorWorld!