Stuart Wishart in Poe's Tell Tale Heart
Fright Night
The Nonentities
*****
It seems both unfair and remarkable in
the scale of things, that The Nonentities have such a talented and
capable pool of actors to deliver their current short, summer season of
plays.
While the pandemic has created huge problems for
Theatre as whole, they have re-emerged with an engaging antidote to the
social restrictions imposed upon us all, an antidote that presents the
very best players of the company, with a solo spotlight in which to
shine.
This week’s selection of three short plays,
collectively called Fright Night, was compiled from the
writings of Edgar Allen Poe and Charles Dickens.
The first was The Tell Tale Heart by
Poe. A deranged man plots to kill his neighbour, but his ingenuity in
concealing the deed is finally unravelled by his own broken mind. This
dark gothic tale featured Stuart Wishart who relished the opportunity to
hold centre stage and treat us to an exhibition of very convincing
character acting.
Directed by Tori Wakeman, Mr Wishart mined every
facet of this nervous character whilst recollecting his act of murder.
The simple setting of a few props, stage risers and a black backdrop
were the perfect atmosphere for this and the subsequent performances.
Patrick Bentley sitting in judgment in
Trial for Murder
Next came Trial For Murder by Charles
Dickens and featured Patrick Bentley. A prospective juror for a murder
trial receives an apparition of the murdered man at his apartment.
Later, and as the trial continues, he sees the apparition several times,
believing him at times to be an actual person in the courtroom.
Mr Bentley was splendid in the role as the
comfortable bachelor, Victorian gentlemen, retelling the tale one
evening over of a glass of whiskey. Mr Bentley is often included in the
company’s ensemble work, but the solo aspect of all of these monologue
plays presents a great opportunity for an actor. It is still though a
considerable undertaking, with each play lasting around 20 mins.
Directed by Jen Ellington is was yet another skilful, chilling addition
to the evening.
Stuart Wishart again as the drunk in
Poe's classic The Black Cat
The Final piece was Poe’s The Black Cat,
again with Stuart Wishart in the role and Tori Wakeman directing. A once
amenable family man is driven to unspeakable acts of violence and
cruelty while under the disease of achohol dependence.
Mr Wishart’s clipped and polished delivery of
this brutal man, drew gasps from the audience as he calmly recalled his
callous acts to the house cat. It was a credit to his performance that
he achieved this via his precise timing and cool recollection of the
deeds.
The format of these short plays and simple
staging all add to a great deal of variety to an evening of theatre as
it focusses purely on acting skill. Once the lockdown restrictions are
fully lifted it is expected that The Nonentities will return once again
to plays that engage the entire company as whole.
However, this short play format calls for the
minimal of production expense, yet creates the maximum dramatic effect
and possibly is a worthy regular addition to their programme.
Before the larger productions arrive, I would
urge anyone to go see what the company can do with a little bit of
staging and lot of individual talent. To 10-07-21
Jeff Grant
07-07-21
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