Everything Theatre Reviews, interviews and news for theatre lovers, London and beyond
The office party from hell coincides with loneliness and grief in this funny show that will really kick the Christmas Grinch in the backside. Summary
Rating
Excellent
Anyone who has ever worked in a large office will easily relate to Serena as she tackles her office Christmas party. You’ll instantly recognise all the usual suspects who come out once a year, from DJ Dave, who sticks a few records on his expensive decks and thinks he is Calvin Harris, through to the prim and proper member of HR who has spent all year a stickler to the rules but this one night, well, anything goes after a few glasses of the cheap wine.
And then there’s Serena, somehow feeling all alone even in the midst of the festivities. This year she’s even more alone as it’s going to be her first Christmas without her dad, something she still hasn’t quite come to terms with. It’s made even more difficult for Serena as she finds herself far away from friends and family, having made the choice to escape her small hometown, first with university and then with work.
There are plenty of plays about being all alone in a big city, so it’s always interesting to see how any new additions to that roster will find their own space. Lydia Kavanagh manages it by sprinkling Deck The Stalls with lashings of wonderful Northern attitude. The script is littered with little jokes and asides that play on North/ South stereotypes without over egging things, all perfectly delivered by Laura Rea in a wonderful Geordie lilt. The show absolutely benefits by leaning into its non-London roots, and one can imagine that this would promise a warm reception outside of London.
Chloe Cattin’s directing helps negate the usual risk of a one person play feeling too static. Instead, she keeps her performer moving across the large Riverside Studios stage as if weaving around the party crowd. It’s a sense that is aided by some clever lighting and sound decisions. Nathan Friend’s constant background party noise creates a room full of the characters that Rea introduces us to, even though Serena continues to feel very much alone in the midst of it all. The lighting design is equally effective in creating that sense of a party, but truly comes alive later on, when Serena retreats into the toilet for sanctuary and the lighting is stripped right back to give the feel of limited space, but also that the walls are closing in on her as her life spirals.
There’s perhaps a very slight uncertainty in Kavanagh’s ultimate intentions with her writing. Themes of grief for a lost father reoccur regularly, and yet Serena’s loneliness and isolation, not just from her work colleagues but from her family and friends, seem to be much more at the core of it all, with grief almost a secondary effect. It’s this isolation that could be explored even further, to really interrogate Serena’s search for real connections. It’s this natural yearning for friendships and meaningful connnection that ultimately delivers handsomely at the end, leaving us with a little Christmas cheer after the earlier suspicion that things might not quite end so well.
Deck The Stalls is very much a Christmas show given it’s set within an office Christmas party. Yet it’s a story that could be told all year around. It’s a delightful insight into loneliness, isolation and grief that doesn’t wallow too long in self-pity, but instead tackles it head-on with true Northern attitude. It might be tinged with a sadness, but it makes sure it leaves you with a joyous and hopeful sense that things will get better with time and the right friends around you.
Written by: Lydia Kavanagh
Directed by: Chloe Cattin
Sound by: Nathan Friend
Deck The Stalls plays at Riverside Studios until 22 December. Further information and tickets available here.
