RETURN TO AKENFIELD. To 6 June.
Tour.
RETURN TO AKENFIELD
from the book by Craig Taylor.
Eastern Angles Tour to 6 June 2009.
Runs 2hr 30min One interval.
Review: Timothy Ramsden 27 February at Assington Village Hall.
Life, love, death and a straight-ploughed furrow.
This is the play of the book which is a remake of the book which had become a film. Nobody’s built a statue of it yet, but that’s about the only art-form not involved since Suffolk author Ronald Blythe did a Cranford on a couple of local villages under the nom-de-plume Akenfield in 1969. Theatre director Peter Hall kept travelling down at weekends to make a TV film cast from local inhabitants.
Instead of the real people of ‘Akenfield’ Naomi Jones’ production employs Eastern Angles’ real actors. Not that the ‘real’ people are around so much in her documentary source, Craig Taylor’s 2006 Return to Akenfield. His ‘locals’ are largely townspeople who have bought the traditional properties
True locals find revenge. When newcomers changed their property’s name from Cottage to Hall, they cued top-prices all round to match their pretensions. Though some newcomers fitted–in, especially those running a traditional pub. Or so they claim – was there really nothing ersatz? Verbatim theatre has its limitations.
Jones’ production can’t altogether avoid the fissures between the series of vivid moments and telling sentences. But she’s learned from a theatrical master, Out of Joint’s Max Stafford-Clark, how to maximise dramatic truth in a series of vignettes.
This largely happens through a fictional thread, the now-it’s-off, now-it’s-not-quite-on relationship between a Polish migrant worker and a young local woman who can’t wait to leave the place. He sees its beauty; to her the world has to offer more. Their scenes provide a traditional sense of development and continuity to balance the mosaic of actuality that’s a modern incomer to dramatic construction.
If it’s largely a local interest show, that comes with the name and at least part of the identity of Eastern Angles. Mika Handley’s set combines maximum space on a small touring set with a sense of vistas cunningly given by two telegraph-posts angled across the stage. The five hard-working actors weave in and out of their deep-etched characters with great skill, especially - . No, this is a company show and all five bring strong individuality to a very happy East Anglian evening.
Lecturer/Old Lady/Shopkeeper/Head Teacher/Runner/Reverend/Mother: Sally Ann Burnett.
NFU Rep/Younger Orchard Man/Entrepreneur/Milk Churn Man/Tractor Boy 2/Farmer/Director/Estate Agent/ Publican/Metal Detector Man/Widower: Richard Earl.
Polish Worrker/Tractor Boy 1/Cereal Farmer/Young Farmer/Author/Newcomer: Robert Macpherson.
Old Orchard Man/Shop Owner/Poacher/Writer/Dairy Farmer/Graveyard Tender/Sweet Pea Man: David Redgrave.
Winnie/Poacher’s Granddaughter/Young Mum/Pillar of the Community/Estate Agent’s Daughter/Waitress/Publican’s Wife: Charlotte Thompson.
Director: Naomi Jones.
Designer: Mika Handley.
Lighting: Penny Griffin.
Music: Pat Whymark.
2009-02-28 10:24:42