FLIGHT PATH: To 10 November.

Tour.

FLIGHT PATH
by David Watson.

Birmingham Rep: The Door till Sat 13 October.
www.birmingham-rep.co.uk.
Runs: 1hr 40min No interval.
Review: Rod Dungate 9 October 2007.

A link to Amazon for the script is attached below.

Refreshing; a play with a heart.

FLIGHT PATH is a refreshingly humane play – but you don’t know this all the way along. So, while the dark humour, the endless fascination with families falling apart, keeps you going along, there’s a welcome feel-good twist in the tail.

Jonathan is a bright boy – forecast to get 3 As and a B at A Level, though with work he could get 4 As; that’s his father’s aspiration. But Jonathan’s in with bad company, and he also has to take much of the responsibility of looking after his brother Dan. No easy task, his parents are separated and Dan, 24, has Down’s syndrome and has reached the age when he wants to start making decisions for himself. FLIGHT PATH is a play about growing up, it’s a play about two brothers forging a new relationship as they reach adulthood.

The great success of this production are the performances. They are uniformly strong, but specially the relationships between the young people. Cary Crankson and Scott Swadkins (Jonathan and Daniel) create a filial bond about as strong as you can get, with all its ups and downs. Crankson encompasses Jonathan’s confusion and frustration with great ease. Writer David Watson makes a strong feature of unfinished lines or lines left in the air; this helps us empathise with Jonathan’s feeling of not knowing where to go. Sometimes, however, sentences are too unfinished, and Crankson is left at sea while the device moves centre-stage.

Ashley Medekwe gives a warm performance as Lauren, Jonathan’s girl-friend. Once again, the relationship is greater than the sum of its parts; this play has a lot of heart. Lauren used to be girl-friend of Jonathan’s best friend (and petty criminal), Joe. Jason Maza gives a strong, witty performance; pushy, violent, Maza also allows us to feel a deal of sorrow for this lost soul.

Watson’s writing is lively, tough; pain and love in equal measures.

Sean: Will Knightley.
Jonathan: Cary Crankson.
Daniel: Scott Swadkins.
Joe: Jason Maza.
Lauren: Ashley Madekwe.
Susan: Mossie Smith.

Director: Naomi Jones.
Designer: Polly Sullivan.
Lighting Designer: Natasha Chivers.
Sound Designer: Carolyn Downing
Soxutme supervisor: Sydney Florence.
Fight Director: Paul Benzing.

Here's the link to Amazon:

2007-10-10 09:42:52