LIFEBOAT. To 6 November.
London/Glasgow
LIFEBOAT
by Nicola McCartney
Catherine Wheels Theatre Company Tour to 6 November 2003
Polka Theatre, London to 1 November then Tron Glasgow 5 November 6pm, 6 November 1.30pm & 7pm
Runs 1hr 10min No interval
TICKETS: 020 8543 4488 (Polka)
0141 552 4267 (Tron)
Review: Timothy Ramsden 28 October
Moving, superbly performed story from life that can appeal to all over 9. And that means to 90 - at leastThe advantage of winning a prize is clear. The downside can be raised expectations. And for a very few minutes I feared Scotland's Catherine Wheels might have a piece which, despite its Barclays Theatre Award, would not be so fine after all as it nears a long tour's end.
Here were the 2 teenage evacuees in 1940, torpedoed on a boat to Canada, floating on ropes as if clinging indeed to their capsized lifecraft, then bouncing back to pre-war life with accounts of family life and old World War I songs such as we've seen many times before. Here we go again. All right for young people seeing the devices first-time round of course, but -.
'But' nothing. This develops as a beautiful account of Beth and Bess, a 14 and 15-year old 14 year old from North London and Liverpool. They meet for the first time at the evacuation, but there's plenty of pre-War family details to make vivid their different lives, the normal ambitions - to be a singer, or an actress - and the impact of war.
Gill Robertson's excellent production travels over years at the flick of a lighting switch as McCartney skilfully interposes reminders of the literal clinging for dear life, with eventual rescue coming only after false hope and as the urge to surrender to death also encroaches, with the vivacious family scenes where Bess's little brother Lou can be a bit of a one, but that's the nearest to trouble in mercifully happy families.
It's shameful of Catherine Wheels to conceal the identities of their two actors. With contrasting faces, long and round, expressing optimism and joy through their different features, these are technically accomplished performances - bouncing in and out of various glimpsed characters -which also radiate energy and joy, without glossing over the fact that childhood's not a bed of roses.
Just as their rescue seems overly cheerful, with little brother Lou also surviving, (only 11 children came through of 98 who set sail), we learn these were real people, alive in their seventies as the 21st century gets under way, still meeting - and, indeed, related.
Lifeboat celebrates human courage and friendship - we didn't give up, we clung on is the final thought. Of course, there are even worse horrors in the world, and one hopeful action casn't clear up the full mess of life. But this fine play can cheer any age with a truth that keeps it well clear of sentimentality.
And it's impossible to imagine a more fluent production, or finer performances.
Cast details and full crediots not available
2003-10-31 13:24:02