CityLife

Sheepish

Sheepish
24:7 Theatre Festival 2010: Pioneer Stage
July 28, 2010

Who knows where our minds will take us, if given the opportunity to stand and stare?

But, if the three characters in Joyce Branagh’s new comedy Sheepish are anything to go by, we’d better prepare for a helluva ride.

There’s an uptight Yorkshireman (Christopher Chilton – recently seen in Oldham Coliseum’s The Road to Nab End), a laidback Welshman (Simon Holland Roberts – a Northern Broadsides regular) and an hysterical Londoner (Ayesha Gwilt – who plays Amy Porter in Waterloo Road) all stuck on a hillside, in fancy dress, waiting for the elusive Dee to turn up and get the party started.

The premise is a shameless rip off of Waiting For Godot and the result, as you might expect, is comically absurd.

Nothing happens yet everything happens in this rip-roaring adventure of ski slaloms, motorbike racing, intergalactic rocket rides, Russian double agents and blinking competitions.

This is the first play from Joyce Branagh, who has been consistent champion of new writing throughout her career, previously working as literary director for Watford Palace. Last year at 24:7 she directed, Dancing to the Sound of Crunching Snails and in the autumn is directing The Sunshine Boys at Oldham Coliseum, where she has built a good relationship as a guest director in recent years.

In Sheepish, Branagh has created three well defined characters whose surreal journeys flow along nicely in a gently humorous and entertaining hour-long show. A fine ensemble cast, with excellent comic timing, bring the necessary energy to breathe life into her clever and funny script.  The result is perfectly light for a summer evening.

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