CityLife Rating
Good Hidings
A POPULAR venue for this year’s Not Part Of festival, the Lass O’Gowrie was yet again full to capacity.
The evening had already proven to be a hit with the Manchester audience as unfortunately people were turned away at the door because there wasn’t enough room.
I was glad to have arrived early and found a seat because it was definitely a night not to be missed.
The play told the story of an alcoholic father and his three children trying to get over the painful past of their mother leaving and creating a stable family home in her absence.
Motherly role
Struggling to cope with their father and the financial worries that come with him spending his days in the pub, Lisa the eldest daughter, adopts the motherly role and brings in the family earn.
She is also very paternal over her younger siblings, defending Sam when their father discovers he is gay.
Kate on the other hand, always believed she could do better than her family and almost selfishly leaves to follow her dreams at university, ignoring the fact that Lisa had to sacrifice her future for her father and the family home.
The actors convincingly depict the emotions of a struggling family unit with intense feelings of anger and upset.
Doom and gloom
This does not mean the play was all doom and gloom however as the audience were often caught off guard by the hilarious one liners said throughout.
I thought it was genius that the play was structured within the time frame of a year because it showed the incredible journey the family had taken, from spilling red wine over the carpet in the opening scene to making lumpy hot chocolate in the last.
Changing emotions
The changing of scenes with the clever use of props added depth to the play and clearly marked the passing of time and the changing emotions.
If it is not clear by now, then I will state again that I loved this play, it was written intelligently and acted out perfectly.
I hope this play goes further and is performed on a bigger stage to a bigger audience because it certainly deserves to be ‘part of’ the theatrical scene.
Credit to Michelle Aston, Sarah Jane Hollins, Wesley Pearce and Colin Conner
Reviewed: Thu, 16 July, 2009
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