THE FLAGS. To 10 November.
Manchester
THE FLAGS
by Bridget O’Connor.
Royal Exchange Theatre To 10 November 2007.
Mon-Fri 7.30pm Sat 8pm Mat Wed 2.30pm & Sat 4pm.
BSL Signed 10 Nov 4pm.
Post-show discussion 8 Nov.
Runs 2hr 10min One interval.
TICKETS: 0161 833 9833
www.royalexchange.co.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 3 November.
Deserved new run for 2006 success.
Right now, the Royal Exchange’s engaged in a spot of self-promotion. The Flags is the first of two plays first seen in its studio which are gaining ground for short runs in the main auditorium. This is some progress for Bridget O’Connor’s play, a script sent on the off-chance the theatre might be interested. They were, and audiences should be.
It’s set on a litter-strewn beach where two lifeguards play out a pairing familiar in fiction. JJ’s the planner, thinker and schemer, Howie tags keenly along. He’s encouraged by JJ’s plan for them to go upbeach to a real resort and earn the money to buy a flat. When Howie challenges why this hasn’t happened yet (an idea planted by someone else, as he’s not notable for original thoughts), JJ responds with a dream-plan for an idealised apartment in which only Howie could really believe.
This pair form the play’s core. And, however deserted their beach, like the tramps in Waiting for Godot they discover you’re never left alone too long. Just as the larger playing-space shifts Greg Hersov’s production inevitably towards something more like a comedy to be watched than a comic experience to be shared, so it now becomes clear the other characters are primarily there to prod the plot along.
But O’Connor does this neatly, by the demands both visitors make on JJ. Supervisor Brendan manipulates him towards an unwelcome marriage with his unwanted sister while a young woman who mixes elements of Miss Havisham and Virginia Woolf recalls his past and disturbs the present. As she does Howie’s, for these two take the easy way when lives don’t get guarded as well as they might.
Though the ending has an element that tests credibility, there are good laughs throughout, while few comic first acts outclass The Flags’ fine, character-based climax.
Hersov maintains the comic pace from studio days, adding an out-of-auditorium seascape. Three original cast members are good as ever, while newcomer Eamonn Owens provides a bright-smiling, often puzzled Howie, who only converts to fury when realising he’s been tricked. This is a well-deserved internal transfer.
Brendan: Kieran Cunningham.
JJ: Francis Magee.
The Girl: Siobhan McSweeny.
Howie: Eamonn Owens.
Director: Greg Hersov.
Designer: Laurie Dennett.
Lighting: Richard Owen.
Sound: Steve Brown, Claire Windsor.
2007-11-04 14:08:06