Review: Cheekish Productions at South Hill Park

Published 6 Apr 2010 13:00 0 Comments

Theatre review by Marion Mansfield

Cheekish Productions brilliantly bought us six short but thought-provoking and powerful plays on issues of public and personal safety and fears in the advent of modern terrorism, all of which are very relevant today since the 7/7 bombings in London and the war in Iraq.

First was three of the 16 short plays by Mark Ravenhill. A British Soldier interrogates an Iraqi woman, both terrified and scarred having witnessed atrocities. A neighbour goes to the aid of a woman in nearby flat only to discover that she is a terrorist. An anxious young couple in suburbia, in danger of letting their fears rule their future.

After the interval Eschara, a trio of short sketches by one of the actors, Phillip Whiteman. Victims of the bombings about to leave hospital, the overreaction and revenge of a wounded man on his wife and friend, and finally, on the anniversary of her son's death, a mother trying to pick up the threads of her life.

There were no easy answers to any of the complicated issues and the performances by the four young actors were simply masterful. Their portrayal of all the various characters was sensitive and mesmerising with the kind of cutting edge drama that we see too little of. The evening was a profoundly moving experience.

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