THEATRE REVIEW: Off Cut (group 2) - 53Two, Manchester

 

How does one review only part of an event, and that part is a series of 5 short pieces of new writing, still in their development stages? Not very easily I hear you cry!

Off Cut has been a part of Manchester's Fringe Theatre scene for a good number of years now, establishing itself as one of the major events of the local thespian calendar. The whole idea of the event is to help local creative talent, and they do this by inviting local script writers (some who are writing for the first time), young up-coming directors, and assemble a cast of willing local actors and actresses to perform these excerpts or play ideas to a like-minded and appreciative audience. In each case, said audience are asked to vote on which plays and performers they liked the best, and at the end of the series of evenings, those with the most votes will then be taken under the wing of host venue, 53Two to be mentored and aided in producing a full length play from this script, using wherever possible the same creative team. It's a noble endeavour and one which deserves our support.

This evening I watched five excerpts / short plays from Group 2. [different plays and different groups on different evenings].

The evening opened with 'Cobbled Together' by Melissa Parker, and ended with '12am' by Ella Fraser. And quite surprisingly., whether deliberately placed this way or not, these two plays, despite their obvious differences, were actually remarkably similar. The first dealt with an aging actress, having played a character on a TV Soap for many years is now retiring, and she says her final goodbye' to a character that is actually a part of herself. Her alter ego seated, visible and audible to us and her. Whilst the final play dealt with the tragic death of a teenage girl, and her girlfriend, who simply cannot leave her. She sits alone at the bus stop, wanting to leave this city and start a new life but cannot, since the love of her life is still omnipresent in the very fabric of the place, and again, the ghost manifests as a real presence visible to the audience. Both plays were interesting but the directing and performing of the latter was more interesting and dynamic. 

In between these we watched 'Serving' by Ellie Holt, which showed a father struggling after the death of his wife to connect to his sibling. He is the typical man, football-loving, deer-drinking, and yet he still realises that his son is trying to tell him something but doesn't know how. His son, however, is trans and gay, as the comedic but contrived end of the play makes clear.

Another play was 'Spent Hen' by Connie Kerr, which saw a newspaper features' editor interviewing four young mothers about parenthood and the joys of being a young mother. There is comedy here and also a little pathos, but the storyline is a little flimsy, and the tag somewhat predictable. Unfortunately two of the actresses booked to perform this play were actually unavailable this evening, and so we have to give a huge credit where it is most certainly due to the two who stood in (script-in-hand) sine the show must go on! Rachel Beach and Wendy Albiston. 

The final play to review here however, if I were to have given my vote, would have been the one. It was for me the only one which had the potential of expanding into a full length play and the only one that offered any hint of theatricality beyond the confines of what was already written. The other four plays were complete in their own right.. they all had an opening gambit, and exposition and a conclusion; whereas 'Help Yourself' by Lee Thompson (directed with skill by Keane Harrison) offered much more. The clever use of sound and lighting was brilliant in bringing us into this perhaps dystopian scenario, whereby a young female, with blood on her hands, runs away from her attacker? her victim? a group of vandals?, and finds herself inside a shop. The shopkeeper finds her, and believing her to be a robber (the obvious first conclusion) ties her up to a chair, but does not phone the police. There is no end, it leaves you wanting more and yes, we truly did want to find out all the answers to the unasked questions. Dark, mysterious, captivating. 

Reviewer - Alastair Zyggu
on - 24.7.25