23 January 2008

Ignition1 in the Rough Cuts season at the Royal Court Upstairs

in association with Tristan Bates Theatre, three pieces written within seven days and specifically for the actors taking part.
Written by D C Moore

Woman - Christine Entwisle
Man - Paul Ritter

directed by DC Moore


This hit the ground running and was tight and funny from start to finish.
Woman with a cheery disposition recounts the minutiae of the minutes leading up to her discovery of a murdered homeless man. Her performance is interjected with a similar account from the man who eventually turns out to be her friend and he meets her in the park where she discovered the body. This is obviously more about the journey than the destination and is wonderfully put together with great performances

Written by Polly Stenham

Clare - Clare Higgins
Bill - Bill Patterson

Directed by Dominic Cooke


Clare works in advertising and takes a Big Issue seller home with her. She has several lines of coke and talks non-stop with the odd mono-syllabic interjection from Bill, in his attempt to get her to pay for a Big Issue so he can get back out there.
It transpires that Clare regards Bill as a good luck charm but only when he's wearing his red hat. An interesting exchange questioning which of our characters is the more hopeless and lost than the other. Great performances but not as intensely engaging stuff as the DC Moore.

Written by Michael Bhim

Joe - Cary Crankson
Dane - Clifford Samuel
Shane - Nathaniel Martello-White

Directed by Richard Wilson


Three fellas in a car prepare to harm Dane's girlfriend for her infidelity. All three guys have a different agenda and only one of them really wants to do any harm. It seemed to be the shorter piece but it was still dynamic.

Several young actors were in the audience but I could only put a name to Harry Treadaway.