The Bush
Theatre is renowned for finding fresh talent and a few other companies such as
the Hull Truck theatre company have already picked up Tom Wells. This being my
first visit to the Bush’s new space in the old library I was excited to see
what they had on offer. The space was magnificent, the play not so much.
The
Kitchen Sink tells us the story of a northern family who are struggling to
make ends meet. The milk float is falling apart and the end is as much in sight
as Dolly Parton’s nipples in Billy’s portrait that he hopes will earn him a
place at Art College. Amid it all, Kath is trying to hold it all together while
battling with the kitchen sink, also on its last legs and threatening to blow
at any moment. Following this hapless family on their year-long struggle
circling the plughole is designed to offer a portrait of life for many in these
hard times and help bring people together in their hardship. Instead it leaves
you with more of a sinking feeling…
The linchpin of the whole show was very
much Lisa Palfrey as the distraught mother, Kath. Her composure was good
throughout as she dealt with problem after problem in typical mother-like
fashion, a delicate balance between baking cakes and nagging, apparently… She
has some moments of brilliance that she draws out of the script and her
relationship with each of the other characters is strong and natural,
particularly with her husband, played by Steffan Rhodri. He is as stubborn as
he is grumpy. Despite this, his depth doesn’t really come out until the final
scene and although this is moving, it’s a bit late to have the impact it was
designed to.
The best character and characterisation
was on the part of Andy Rush, the perpetually flustered almost boyfriend almost
plumber. He has the most energy when he’s on the stage and his character’s
relationship with the struggling surrogate family is realistic and compelling.
When he suffers, you genuinely suffer with him and moments later are laughing
at his flawless ineptitude. His fumbling attempts at romance with Leah Brotherhead’s
Sophie are as endearing as they are disastrous and add a welcome youth and vibrancy
to the underlying plot. Brotherhead’s Sophie is strongly constructed through
most of the show, though there are a couple of outbursts when it wasn’t
entirely clear where they had come from; nevertheless a good performance from
the award-winning actress.
Ryan Sampson completes the cast with a
strong performance. His position is the most varied through the show and
perhaps the one that most audience members can empathise with to some extent
and as a result he feels closer to the audience than the rest of the family.
His struggle in trying to break out and find himself in the despairing times is
challenging on many levels as he rises and falls, accompanied all the way by
the wonderfully incorporated Dolly Parton. A good touch, that.
The script is somewhat disappointing.
There was no obvious progression in the plot and there was no satisfactory
group ending. I’m not saying that it needed to be a happy ending, I’m saying
that the way in which the play ended with a couple of couples resolving their
issues and coming together felt fragmented and incomplete, as if there was
another ten minutes that we were missing. It didn’t feel like an ending. Although
there are plenty of funny moments, particularly as a result of the good work by
Rush and Sampson, there is no belly laugh humour until the very end and it has
more of a situational and set-based cause than a script-based one.
I also have a pet peeve with the script
wherein Tom Wells thinks it’s a good idea to end sentences… It’s all very well
trailing off here or there but when you’re trying to… I looked at two random
pages in the script when I was at home and each page had three instances of…
The effect that this had was that we missed a lot of what makes most plays
good. It’s the ends of those sentences that make the playwright a name and make
the images and metaphors relevant and poignant, amusing and touching. The Kitchen Sink had none of this and
felt empty as a result. I didn’t feel like I gained anything by following these
characters on their journey.
The direction was much better than the
writing, with the entrances and exits being slick and the blocking dealing with
performing in the round very well indeed. I’d be very surprised if anyone felt
like they didn’t have a good view of the whole show. The changes from season to
season were subtly marked and worked well, the actors all knew what they were
doing and didn’t break character once. There was a pleasing unity in that, at
least.
One of the most impressive aspects of the
show was the space and the set that was built in it. The open backs of the
cupboards were a nice touch and the feel of a building site with sand
everywhere suited the play brilliantly. It felt like a home, not just a house,
while at the same time allowing us a non-invasive view into the kitchen.
For £10 a ticket it’s a fair deal and a
good evening of theatre but since it’s a bit lackluster and the Bush subscribes
to the frustrating trend of incorporating their programme with the script there
isn’t much justification for higher prices. The auditorium was full and the
atmosphere was good, if a bit blue. All in all, it’s rather…
John Ord (30/11/2011)
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