By Cal
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6GkWakYzRg
Available until: Unknown
Rick Allden is an incredible writer.
It’s not just that he writes these plays well, he takes on such a wide range of
characters and situations and turns them into a complete story that makes you
think with characters you care about. This story is about an agony aunt and
that’s not something that’s ever been part of my life. If I have a problem and
I want to talk to someone outside the family, I’d rather go on a forum and talk
to other people who have been through something similar. Pinning my hopes on
one specific person who might not know anything about the subject sounds a bit
like a stab in the dark.
Yet at one time, agony aunts were popular and an important source of support. Online forums didn’t always exist. Online didn’t exist. We have something different now which I think works better (not that I can actually be sure when I’ve never written to an agony aunt), but I never stopped to think before about all these people whose jobs don’t exist anymore.
It seems especially important now when
a lot of performers have come to feel irrelevant with the theatres closing and
the Government urging them to retrain. Seeing and hearing what these performers
are saying has really made me think about what it means when jobs disappear.
Some jobs aren’t just something we do to bring some money in. Some jobs are
part of who we are and removing that is like removing a part of our identity.
That is never a good thing.
Dilys could be seen to have retrained.
She’s got herself on social media and she’s making a live video and she’s done
something… striking. But is this a sign that Dilys is coping with the situation
and moving on? Or is it completely the opposite?
Dilys is a fascinating character, who
is brilliantly-performed by Julie Barclay. Director Ashley Cummings has set
this play up on Facebook Live rather than youtube. I wasn’t sure why at first,
but all will become clear when you watch it!
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