How would you react to a friend saying just what they are thinking? Nell is that friend and in her bluntness, we get a show that is not only funny but questions whether being rude may not be a better option!Summary
Rating
Excellent
There’s research on how swearing is beneficial, the release of anger through a few choice words gets the anger and pain out, why else would we swear when we stub a toe? Nell (Clare Stenning) seems to be taking that research to a whole new level, having had an awakening after witnessing an extreme act of violence. Now she is eager to say just what she is thinking, in fact she is saying what she believes Valerie and Josh (Annabella Jennings and Jad Sayegh) are thinking as well, because only by letting the truth and anger out can we really be free of our pain. It certainly flies in the face of our ingrained British politeness to avoid confrontation.
It’s this bluntness that makes Nell the guest from hell, but Valerie feels a need to tolerate her old friend. Except tonight, Nell is more direct than ever, pushing her hosts in directions they would never admit, because normally it’s all bottled up inside. Yet are the things left unsaid things that should be aired so that they can lead the lives they really desire?
Brief Play About Rage certainly keeps you guessing quite where it is going. Nell jumps wildly from thought to thought, a stream of consciousness as she lets it all out and in doing so challenges her hosts to do likewise. At times the theatre is deadly silent as we listen to her rant like a madwoman, at other times it’s hard to hear her words through the laughter. Her story of the old man and his dog goes from sweet to extreme without warning as she recounts witnessing an extreme act of violence. There is more than a hint of Philip Ridley at his most ‘in-yer-face’ period present in Deane McElree’s writing, but it never feels forced, rather a natural flow of words, albeit shocking ones.
There’s little let up throughout with Stenning never holding back in her performance as she dominates everything. Yet somehow she still manages to balance the need to shout and rant with a strange vulnerability, turning the audience from laughing at her crazed behaviour to caring for her wellbeing. Her outfit of a dress resembling a hospital gown certainly adds to the image of a crazed woman just released from the asylum. Jennings and Sayegh play the tolerant hosts with required restraint, whilst director Sophia Golan’s decision to leave Sayegh seated almost entirely throughout makes him a fascinating observer to it all.
Proceedings are greatly insisted by Amelia Callard’s cello playing. She contributes every sound, at times soothing but elsewhere harsh, perfectly matching the tension. Yet her presence is more than to simply provide sound, she is an object for the cast to circle around and use to demonstrate their points.
The Cockpit is a vast space, and at times the performance feels a little lost in it. It’s a wise choice therefore to curtain off one side to take the stage out of the round and more a thrust layout. But an even smaller space would greatly assist in enforcing the claustrophobic need of this piece. Likewise, the use of a mirror as a way to look in at themselves is in principle clever but in reality, doesn’t quite work, again due to the sheer space around them.
Brief Play About Rage is a fascinating show provided you can deal with its intensity. It clearly seems to have lots to say about our repressed natures and need to be more direct to bring fulfilment to our lives. Although maybe not quite as direct and blunt as Nell is tonight!
Written by: Deane McElree
Directed by: Sophia Golan
Set and Costumes by: Bud Potter
Lighting Design by: Francis De Lima
Brief Play About Rage has completed its run at The Cockpit for Camden Fringe.
