THE KISS: Cannon, Lakeside Arts Centre, Nottingham till 31 March

Nottingham

THE KISS
by Glyn Cannon

Lakeside Arts Centre: To 31 March 2007
Mon-Sat 8pm Mat 24 & 28 March 2pm
Audio-described 28 March 8pm
BSL Signed 29 March
Post-show discussion 20 March
Runs 1hr 15min No interval

TICKETS: 0115 846 7777
www.lakesidearts.org.uk
Review: Alan Geary: 16 March 2007

Gripping and unbearably honest theatre in the round.
The actors in this three-hander from director Matt Aston were still tensed-up when it came to final bows, and no wonder; from end to end it’s a tense play. Glyn Cannon’s realistic and fractured dialogue and the sometimes unbearably honest acting make it gripping theatre. And, since it’s done in the round, you’re right in there with character and situation.

Grif, old friend Griff of newly-weds[Will and Cait, who’ve down-sized to the sticks, turns up one evening - to stay. The kitchen table, almost the only item on the bare set, is soon commandeered for other things besides the hapless Will's badly cooked meals.

Some of the short, sharp scenes are almost identical because present action is paralleled with snatches from the past, one snatch in particular being a passionate, mutually stolen, kiss.

The embarrassing tension at meal-times is brilliantly captured by all three. In the end - the most moving bit - Will, voice broken with emotion, realises what’s been going on. Earlier he’s been described by the arrogant Griff as "a volcano with a smile". At this point the volcano stops smiling.

This is another successful in-house production from the Lakeside.

Will: Stephen Hudson
Griff: Steve Jackson
Cait: Emma Pike

Director: Matt Aston
Designer: Helen Fownes Davies
Lighting: James Farncombe
Sound: Paul Stear

2007-03-18 22:29:29