Review: 'The Saliva Milkshake'

Reviewed by Kate Bull.

Before Reading our review hear our preview of the production now on the ((URY PLAYER))

The director’s choice of “The Siliva Milkshake” was a good one. It is topical in so much that today’s funding for the Arts is being cut, and the role of student protest is at the fore front of people’s minds. Plays for Poor Theatre are once more becoming a necessity; Brenton’s play is an enjoyable necessity.

Unfortunately, the URY preview promises something the play itself fails to deliver: a fast paced thriller of political intrigue and paranoia. Perhaps the stress of being both the narrator and protagonist of this play was too much for Abbott, for his character’s emotions, to us, seemed stilted and unnatural. The peak of Martin’s paranoia was never fully reached, affecting the play’s success in affecting the audience. As a result, I felt no empathy with the protagonist as the final scenes unfolded. Lily Cooper, as Joan (the extremist ex-student whose one action the play forms around) was very good, delivering intense scenes with confidence and understanding. Ryan Hall as Rafferty also deserves mention – his sadistic scenes had a childlike quality that added to a characterization that was quite threatening.

Matthew Lecznar’s direction deserves praise for it’s ambition, although some of the intensity apparent in Brenton’s writing did not quite translate effectively to the stage: some of the monologues became dull and stilted. However, there were some truly excellent scenes in which Lecznar’s understanding of the space, and the space between the actors, really shone. One example of this was the split stage moment of near total darkness, apart from a cigarette end and a red gel. This was fantastically effective. Otherwise, moments of slow motion throughout and the use of the projector screen as a gauze with silhouettes behind, were creative and well thought through. I believe, that with further experience, Lecznar will become an interesting director indeed.

Katie Lambert’s lighting design was effective, if slightly under-rehearsed in places. The use of an OHP projector worked cleverly to demonstrate change of scenes, and bring home Brenton’s ideals of Plays for the Poor Theatre. The blank, black space of The Drama Barn again demonstrated Lecznar’s understanding of the play’s context.

Overall, an engaging production, but one that just fell short of its director’s promise to teach the audience “something about themselves, about society and about real life”.

Listen in to the full review on 'In the Stalls' now on the ((URY PLAYER))

Review: The Crucible

Kate Bull and Alex Gordon review 'York Theatre Royal's production of the Arthur Miller classic.

What were your first impressions of the show?

" For me it was quite stuning, extremly dramatic and had great impact"-Alex Gordon

"For me it was more of transverse seating than in the round which effected the performance in such that it wasn't as intimate as in the round may entail"-Alex Gordon

What did you think of the performances as a whole in such a dilema and action packed play?

"The most outstanding performer for me was Michale Roberts who played Judge Danforth...having fantastic stage presence" -Kate Bull

"The same effect he (Michale Roberts) has on the charaters he has in the play, holding them in the palm of his hand, that effect was replicated with the audience" -Alex Gordon

"Ann Putnam played by Andrina Carroll was fantasticly good...you could sense her angst..the way she acted it was very good" -Kate Bull

"Special mention should also go to John proctor played by steven billington...he played it with a very solid level headiness throught which succedded in envoking the greatest amount of sympathy from the audience" -Alex Gordon

"The emense detail they pay to every aspect of it...it worked seamlessly" - Kate Bull  

So what is that you've taken from this play and what do you think people should go see it for?

"Going to see it in live action proves how much better it is to go and see them than study them" -Kate Bull

"Juliet Forster and Dawn Allsopp along with the rest of the production team succeded in creating an extremly immersing world and some really powerful preformances aswell" -Alex Gordon

Listen to the whole 10 minute review now on the ((URY PLAYER)) here now...

or head over to the York Theatre Royal's website for more details of the production which is running until the 28th May.