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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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Tales from the High
Rise Tower Block Trio Stage2 Youth Theatre, Crescent Theatre *** On one of the hottest evenings in the
city, Stage2 presented not one but three of Philip Ridgley's plays into
a reworked and freshly cemented piece called Tower Block Trio. Ridgley's work came to prominence in the 90s and the chosen works of Sparkleshark, Fairytale Heart and Moonfleece all reflect many of the now familiar themes of teens facing social and interpersonal difficulties. The works all sit well together and Ridley has
personally helped Stage 2 to abridge the three separate plays into one. The sum benefit was that it allowed for this
talented young cast to tackle a wide range of subjects from bullying to
parental loss but the downside is that there is a lot of detail to track
and follow in the three stories and the energy of one piece is often
left hanging for a considerable time as we move on to another scene from
another play. Firstly Sparkleshark tells of young boy who is
bullied and hides out each day on a Tower block roof where he writes his
poems and stories. He is discovered by his oppressors and is recused
from them by their combined imagination in a collective group
storytelling session. The cast of this group were feisty and precise in
their performances. Fairytale Heart is a simpler story of a
young girl Kristy played by Chloe Jennings who has lost her mother and
is coming to terms with her father's attraction to a new woman. Shy
Gideon played by George Bandy is an artist who helps her escape her
worries, again through storytelling and Imagination. The pair did well
throughout being the smallest performing team in terms of numbers in the
Tower Block trio. Finally Moonfleece is complex story with a whole
host of socially opposed characters returning to a derelict tower block
to exorcise the memories of some very tragic memories. It's something of
an unlikely tale and possibly the most hard to follow of the three works
but the Stage 2 cast did a good job of building to the final crescendo
when the truths of the past are finally revealed. There were some nice group staging moments that
enable the remainder of the chorus of Stage 2 to get involved with a
collective `schools out' opening to animated dragons powered by the
younger ones who symbolized the demons of each of the stories. Whilst it's hard to imagine these days that the
difficulties of growing up can somehow be overcome through a few old
fashioned fairy stories the work does inspire young people to think
outside of their direct issues in a collective way. Credit must be given to everyone at Stage2 for
building yet again on their high standard of youth theatre. To 20-07-13 Jeff Grant |
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