INSIDE (Orange Tree Theatre/The Umbrella Rooms)***

 

By Emma

Link: https://orangetreetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/inside/about

Available until: Livestreams on Saturday 27^th March at 2.30pm and 7.30pm.

Inside is a set of three short new plays by writers who were first introduced to the theatre world by the Orange Tree Theatre. There is another set of plays called Outside which will be livestreamed next month.

The plays are very interesting but there seems to be a bit of a focus on eccentric older women. One of them turns out to be lovely (I won’t say which one) but I found it a bit odd that three writers were asked to write Inside plays (though maybe they weren’t given the theme beforehand) and they all came up with eccentric older women. I don’t know if that says anything about the world.

They are all directed by Anna Himali Howard. It’s very interesting the way she uses standing and sitting. There is one play when a character is standing over another and it seems to show authority but in another play when the characters are in similar positions it’s the one who’s sitting who seems more comfortable. It’s very clever.

The plays also have the same set. Shankho Cuaudhuri has given them all slightly different arrangements of furniture which suggest completely different homes and uses big rectangular frames as doors and windows. Plays don’t always show doors and windows because the doors are often the side of the stage and windows aren’t always that important but they are very important in these plays because they show that the characters are ‘inside’. These windows and doors are totally blank and don’t show you anything outside.

In Guidesky & I, Diana is all alone. She’s very suspicious. A lot of people seem to be treating her badly or at least, that’s how she sees it. She’s received something in the post and she wants a refund but she’s not getting much co-operation. Writer Deborah Bruce has created a really strong character who Samantha Spiro plays in a really energetic and slightly disturbing way. There is something quite admirable about Diana but the play is sad too.

In When the Daffodils, Meg is visited by Samia. I can’t remember Samia’s exact job title, but she’s some sort of care worker. At first it seems like it’s a normal care visit. A quick visit around Christmas and Samia has brought her a present. But everything isn’t quite as it seems. Writer Joel Tan has created a really interesting dynamic between the two characters and it asks some really interesting questions about care and age and exactly what those things mean. Ishia Bennison has appeared in quite a few plays in lockdown (Romeo & Juliet for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Missing People for the Leeds Playhouse, Escaped Alone for Theatr Clwyd) and she’s always great to watch. As Meg, there are times when she seems very vulnerable and times when she seems to have all the power. It’s very subtle. Jessica Murrain (who was in a different Romeo & Juliet for Metcalfe Gordon Productions) is similar, switching between being lovely and warm and being quite intimidating. They live in a very complicated world.

In Ursa Major, Callistto is houseless (not homeless, she does have a home, it’s just not a building). She really wants a hot meal and when she meets Jay, she hopes that her first nice meal in ages might finally be on the way. It’s difficult for Jay too. He is alone too as his wife is currently with her mother. Callistto is determined to get inside his house. Writer Joe White has created two likeable characters with pasts. Sasha Winslow is an intelligent, dignified and very eccentric Callistto. Fisayo Akinade’s Jay is quiet, not very confident and very sweet.

These are three really intriguing plays with the same theme and it’s interesting to see the similarities and differences between them.