St Andrews Freshers Drama Festival Reviews

by Gabrielle Hill-Smith

Theatre survives through uncertain times, as has been proven again and again by generations, for centuries, across the globe, and in uncertain times, creativity can flourish. This year there have been a few changes to the annual Freshers Drama Festival in St Andrews. Due to the unfortunate permanent closure of the student-run theatre space The Barron, for the first time the Festival productions were held in the Byre Theatre’s Lawrence Levy Studio, a small but expressive space on the top floor of the Byre. Last week I saw all four of the wonderful student-produced plays from the FDF, three of which were original productions, and all of which illustrated the talent of our student body, on stage and behind the scenes. The influence of our uncertain and difficult times ran thematically through these shows, the ever-present existence of climate anxiety in my personal favourite Flounder, the eerily familiar post-apocalyptic This Way Out, the darkly funny reunion of Spotlights and even the escapism of the timeless and magical Midsummer Night’s Dream felt like they’d drawn on the world around us. All were well-put together shows and illustrated the hard work of their cast and crew.

This Way Out

Written by Emma Dollase

Directed by George Cooper

Monday 24th January 2022

Opening the Freshers Drama Festival with a post-apocalyptic bang is an original student production This Way Out, written by Emma Dollase and directed by George Cooper. I went to their opening night, on Monday the 24th of January and the small crowd was buzzing with excitement as we took our seats in the Byre studio space. This post-apocalyptic drama set in an American bunker after what is suggested is a nuclear war sometime in this year, is funny, touching and timely, and testament to the excruciating boredom and annoyances of being trapped in a small space with your siblings, which I am sure many of us can relate to with the COVID-19 lockdowns.

The play revolves around teenager Max, and his sister Clare, who are both left in a bunker following nuclear war, stuck with four years of supplies and with no way to get out into the destroyed world. The sparse set (Rowan Stewart) of camp beds and a chest of drawers is reflective of this bunker setting, and the play utilises the curtained backstage space well.

Konstantinos Kapoutsis shone as the protagonist, the nerdy comic-book loving teen Max. There was a good balance of sincerity in his expression and great expression in his movement. Kapoutsis was believable as an awkward teenage boy (aided by the realistic costuming of Ella Wong) who isn’t very confident in his body yet. His comedic expression and timing was good, I especially liked his flustered offering of a spatula for Harrison (a nuanced and soft-toned Ben Clark) to shake rather than a hand. Alex Flagg as Max’s sister, the brash and annoying Clare, was also a skilled performer who convincingly portrayed a broad emotional spectrum across the course of the play. At times however it felt like the fast-paced changes of scene and tone didn’t really give Flagg the necessary space to dwell on and move between the varying emotions she was evoking.

This comic depiction of the end of the world has a big heart, with thematic threads of familial love and self-discovery running through it. Max coming out as gay towards the end of the play is a well balanced portrayal of the young queer experience, and illustrative of the production’s bittersweetness. However none of these threads felt effectively tied up, creating a somewhat fragmented production. The performance (and with it the audience’s suspension of disbelief) was somewhat interrupted by the very frequent black-out scene changes, which were only really utilised well once - when to great comedic effect it is used for a fast sequence of transitions to create a montage of boredom as the days in the bunker go by.

There were more loose threads in the frequent discussion of whether or not they were going crazy, but these are never brought to a close, instead the play insists they have gone crazy by including the physical manifestations or hallucinations of the siblings’ favourite fictional characters - superhero Heather Huxtable (Cecilia Bechini) and romantic hero Jock Manly (Wilson Jones). Whether intended or not, a plausible interpretation of the character Harrison would be as a shared hallucination of the siblings, rather than a real figure who stumbled across their bunker, and this interpretation gives the play a much darker twist, but one which is never explicit. Therefore the notion of whether the siblings are being driven crazy by their isolation from the outside world is simply another of This Way Out’s lost threads.

The disjunction and fragmentation of tone (from the melodramatic reaction to dead parents to the hallucinatory manifestations of their favourite fictional characters) were quite jarring, but it did contribute to the surreal darkly comedic nature of the play. Jones as the romantic hero of Clare’s books had a very dramatic entrance which utilised the immersive space well and his characterisation was fantastic.

The fragmentary nature of the production and the chaos alongside it also worked very well in the dinner scene, in which the overlapping conversations really illustrated Dollase’s skill at writing realism. The cast managed to balance that scene incredibly well, not one character tipping the balance in their favour but rather each thread of the story nicely bouncing off each other, especially Nell Lang as Mrs Greenbea whose comedic pacing and expression were fantastic. Kip Sisel as the boyfriend was more of a caricature than a character, but he did provide believable comedic relief as the chad boyfriend of Clare. James Kearney as Mr Greenbea didn’t have much to work with, but him quietly reading the paper and puffing on a pipe in the moments before nuclear war provided an insight into the older generations of bystanders to global devastating events.

Overall it was an enjoyable production, but could have been less fragmentary, a bit more polished and expanded upon.

Spotlights

Written and directed by Xavier Norton-Edwards

Produced by Eilish Campbell and Eleanor Reid

Wednesday 27th January 2022

On Wednesday of the Freshers Drama Festival week I went to see the second original student production in the Byre Studio, the dark comedy written by Xavier Norton-Edwards, Spotlights. Five years after high school ends eight childhood friends receive a mysterious invitation to Roman Manor in a strange reunion which quickly turns into a murder mystery game with deadly consequences. A fantastic premise, and one designed to work well on stage, however this performance wasn’t as effective as it could have been. That being said, there were elements of the production that I thought were well-crafted and were a testament to the hard work of the cast and crew for pulling off a play so early in the semester.

The set (Isabel Alexander) was simple but evocative of the manor house, with grand but old and worn sofas and armchairs alongside empty bottles of alcohol strewn across the performance space. The bold lighting choices (Jordan Anderson) which could be described as somewhat obvious (including the titular spotlights) were pulled off very well, the actors being thrown into red light and into black outs enhancing a sense of foreboding.

Some aspects carried the production, such as the stand-out performance of Bella Yow as Xander, the darkly comedic and self-aware antagonist, who approached the character with an energy that carried the rest of the production with it. Likewise Valentine Salinger as Layla propped up the production with convincing dialogue, movement and evocative emotion in a play which desperately needed a dose of verisimilar dialogue to convince the audience these characters were friends (somewhat toxic friends as is revealed) and have known each other for a long time but have since fallen out of touch.

The rest of the cast also had their strengths, showing they have both acting talent and musical skill in the death-karaoke scene; one of the variety of moments the production included fun cultural allusions. The fourth-wall breaks, tackling the fictionality of the drama, were at first were amusing, but as it went on felt somewhat forced. I felt like it would have worked better if it was either only on one occasion or was a consistent thread of Fleabag-esque fourth wall breakage throughout.

This performance could have done with further polishing as it was a bit-low energy in parts and there were a few minor slip-ups. Furthermore, the performance was somewhat let down by their having to wear masks on stage, which ended up being both distracting for the audience and derailing the actor’s attempts to project. This is however an unfortunate and unavoidable side-effect of COVID-era theatre. Moreover, due to the play’s short length, the ensemble cast did not seem to have the opportunity to develop their characterisation and relations to each other. The premise was great, but could have done with some expansion in order to really create the tense and darkly comic drama it had the potential to be.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Abby Kelley

Produced by Isabel Alexander

Saturday 29th January 2022

On Saturday afternoon the Byre Studio was packed for the second performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Clearly the word had spread that it was worth a watch, and all of us were in for a treat. This well-paced adaptation of Shakespeare’s most popular comedy played well into the relationship between audience and actors; fiction and reality, framed by an extraordinarily well-performed rendition of Hamlet’s Act 2 Scene 2 monologue by Iain Lynn, emphasising the idea of Midsummer being a play within a play ad infinitum.

The set was simple - all they needed to effectively evoke the forest setting of the majority of the play was a backdrop, placed over the curtains at the back of the performance space, of strips of green netted material and ivy hanging down. Strings of stars and the ethereal green and pink lighting created a simple but magical space within the Byre Studio. Alongside this all that was on stage were a chaise longue and a park bench. They utilised the aisle and the curtains effectively, especially when continuing to talk while exiting the performance space, creating a more immersive experience for the audience and a reality which can often be discarded in contemporary adaptations of Shakespeare. This magical dream-like quality of the set was enhanced by the costuming - all members of the cast wore pyjamas, a visual aid which effectively illustrated the liminal space the play takes place in, between dream and reality. Several of the cast wore satin or silk pyjamas which reflected the greens and pinks of the lighting design further enhancing the magical feel of the production.

The comedic miscommunication that defines Shakespearean comedy was portrayed effectively and with ease, with some especially strong performances from the young lovers - the energetic and eloquent Freddie Lawson as suitor Demetrius and an evocative and convincingly enamoured Emma Croft-Smith as Helena. Emily Christaki who played Hermia was also a skilled actor who seemed easily able to use the language with naturalistic intonation and beats. In their valiant efforts to remember and enunciate the difficult Elizabethan dialect many other members of the cast struggled with maintaining the natural emotions and rhythms of the play. Unfortunately, Christaki’s projection was somewhat lacking and there were multiple occasions where I struggled to hear what she was saying. This particular adaptation didn’t emphasise the defiant female force that Hermia could be in her rejection of her intended fate. Another strong performance came from Iain Lynn as the faerie-king Oberon, which was delivered with skill, stage presence and a mischievous energy. There did seem to be a bit of a disjunction between the portrayals of Oberon and Puck (Natalie Westgor), where at times their presence on stage felt clashing rather than holding the space together, however individually they both stood out as great performers.

Overall this adaptation of the iconic Shakespearen comedy was a refreshing piece of escapism which felt polished and fun.

Flounder

Written, directed and produced by Adesola Thomas

Sunday 30th January 2022

This is what student theatre should aspire to be like. Visceral, bold, topical, kind and angry, taking our lived experiences and fears and confronting them in an imagined space with sharp dialogue and creative movement. Adesola Thomas’ play Flounder confronts an imagined future which grapples with our lived reality of eco-anxiety and the ever-impending threats of climate breakdown, while attacking irrationality and devastation of the elitist systems our society continues to hold in place, alluding to the geopolitical effects of climate breakdown and the devastating impacts global warming has and will continue to have on indigenous groups.

Sunday night, their second performance, and the final show of Fresher Drama festival, the Byre studio was once again packed, perhaps even more so than for Midsummer. Thomas introduced the production with a brief engaging speech, and ensured the audience that the space and resources were available to deal with the effects of the reality of eco anxiety that was about to be explored. Then the show began, to a somewhat uncertain beginning, as the gas-masked stomping chorus prepared for a drill for the Flood. There wasn’t a huge amount of cohesive fluidity to the group, which ended up being quite distracting but this was soon forgotten when Margaret (Julia Albert) starts having a panic attack having forgotten her identification papers and Gabe (Nicole Sellew) stays behind to help her, resulting in them both being locked out of the evacuation. There were elements which felt a little cliched in their depiction of dystopia, plotlines that felt like echoes of The Hunger Games, but the overall feeling of the production was of a timely and nuanced portrayal of a possible future of our world. Thomas’ dialogue was incredibly convincing and engaging, played with skill by Albert and Selew, and their long scenes of dialogue felt realistic and gentle but never dull.

The set was simple, a door with propaganda posters taped to it, and a table with two chairs, which was utilised to bring creativity and levels to the space giving the actors chance to play with our eyelines and thus manipulate our emotions more creatively. The costumes choices were interesting, if a little strange, as the dancing troupe ensemble and Margeret wore colourful tights underneath large shorts, perhaps to indicate their jovial performing characteristics or to distinguish them as ‘other’, while Gabe and the evacuating ensemble were dressed like a typical dystopian character in dark sturdy clothing.

Some of Marget’s dead-found-family-dancing-troupe ensemble were a little one-dimensional in terms of characterisation,  but Natalie Westgor as the Cool Aunt stood out as a strong character performer with a good grasp of emotion. But the use of an ensemble cast really came into fruition with the movement sequence which took up a large part of the end of the play. A powerful sequence of the dead dancing at the bottom of the ocean and the fish floundering on the land after a tidal flood, it was creative and moving, but not as tight as it could have been, with a few chorus members needing to be sleeker in their performance.

Additionally, rather than being used to create an immersive multisensory production, the lighting was turned off and on with obvious cues (“what’s your favourite colour?” is asked and when the answer is “orange” the light turns orange). The lighting design to me was not as strong as the otherwise stellar production.

I say this as a compliment, but Flounder made me cry, not once but twice. When characters are explaining how voices and people are remembered and live on within us, through stories and memories, I cried at how carefully and kindly that part had been written and portrayed on stage, and it reminded me of the way family memories have been passed down across the world, across cultures across generations. The way the ensemble are known only by nicknames to me felt like a reference to the aboriginal Australian practise of not naming the dead, which in my mind aligned with the plays thematic concern of systemic and geopolitical oppression and murder. While it is an imagined future, Thomas’ play points a distinct finger at the way our world is run now, gently cradling those who suffer and have suffered and telling us sharply that things need to change. The second time it made me cry was actually afterwards as I was walking home and I realised how much anxiety about climate breakdown I had been holding in while I’ve been worried about the pandemic and everything else. I’d like to think it was a cathartic crying though, that however terrifying and isolating this feels, to know that we are in it together, and through whatever disasters await us we will continue creating and appreciating art.

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