CAREFUL WHAT YOU SHOW (Compacts)****

  

By Dave

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt7-7RvQgSs

Available until: Unknown

Everyone says it’s wrong to judge people, that you should keep your minds open, that you shouldn’t assume. But that’s easier said than done.

With a play you’ve got a natural interest in what happens next and that’s fine as long as the story is good enough to hold most of your attention.

But there are some plays where you have no idea what’s coming next. All you can do is keep watching and wait for all to come clear.

Careful What You Show is like that. The first thing you see is a woman, Sally, doing her make-up. That is such a normal activity for so many women (and a few men) but if it appears in a play you know she’s putting make-up on for a reason.

I think most people would need a mirror in order to paint their eyebrows (not that I’m the world’s expert) but everything is set up so it looks like she’s looking into the camera. I also like the way the camera was pointed at the ceiling (although this might have been the actor’s decision). Sally talks a little bit about her lifestyle and a camera at a normal level might easily reveal whether she’s telling the truth or not. The production works around this very well to keep us guessing - as the title says, director Lisa Diveney has been very careful about what is shown.

Rick Allden has written another interesting and intriguing character. The thing about monologues is that you need to want to listen to the character. Rick has written a script that makes you want to know what Sally is going to say next and he is helped in this by Andrea Hall’s performance. The title of the play holds very true for her – you do have to be careful what you show and there’s something about her performance which makes me feel she is being careful what she shows, even in this monologue. Andrea gives the impression that there’s a lot going on under the surface – and she’ll tell us when she’s ready, not before. It’s a very intense performance, it held my attention and although I think the play ended in the right place, I feel like I want to know what happens next. Which is exactly what you want to feel at the end of a good play.