Tom Campion’s plays have become ubiquitous in recent times at Oxford. The Curious Case of Sophia Wyatt was put on to glittering reviews at the OFS last term and Guardian Angel, Make Him Cure Me and Fragments of Her last year. Having seen the former production and heard opinions on the others I will say that Campion’s strength lies in the originality of his theatre. A Paper Girl is certainly not your run-of-the mill piece.
I mean how could it be? The play revolves around the fortune of a little girl called Anna, and Anna’s special, because she doesn’t exist like you or I do, but is a “paper girl”. Her existence is limited to the origami models, erm, ducks, pigeons, swans, cranes – I’m no ornithologist –strewn across a table. I won’t say her reasons for making these models, but let’s just say that it’s a touching motif.
This challenging character, or lack of character, is ironically what keeps us engaged. Her teacher, her teacher’s ex and her father, who has recently lost his wife, are seen squirming around Annie, trying to hide things, explain things, and to treat her like…well, a child. Yet away from Annie the adult world is a very complicated place.
All three members of the cast project a very clear character. Helen Ziegler in particular as the teacher, Cassie, is extremely gifted in expressing her emotional state with the slightest tweaks in gesture and facial expression. One of the marks of a good actor. Charlie Holt as the irascible slightly unhinged ex, Ben, is an actor with a fantastically authoritative yet dulcet voice that beckons the ear whilst it genuinely terrifies when his character flares up. Peter Clapp lacks the emotional nuances of the father, and yet his jerky movements and abrupt facial changes express his misery adequately enough. All three cope in different ways with the invisible girl with whom they share stage time.
There was a certain amount lacking in the production though. Macabre, oppressive atmospheres in abnormal worlds seem to take Campion’s fancy, however in this play I felt that this made the viewing too heavy, and in particular there were funny lines I couldn’t laugh at as a result. Furthermore, the play felt condensed and perhaps cut too short. In the situation depicted there was nothing everyday, but only minute after minute of high-tension conversation: I really wanted to see the characters when not in persuasive or vituperative dialogue or highly-sensitized monologue. That would have been more bearable had there been more props of plots to retain the attention, but the burden of visual interest is placed solely on poor Annie…As if she’s not having enough of a hard time already!
This is certainly worth a look this week. It makes for heavy viewing but good acting and the ‘presence of Annie’ makes this a unique experience.
I mean how could it be? The play revolves around the fortune of a little girl called Anna, and Anna’s special, because she doesn’t exist like you or I do, but is a “paper girl”. Her existence is limited to the origami models, erm, ducks, pigeons, swans, cranes – I’m no ornithologist –strewn across a table. I won’t say her reasons for making these models, but let’s just say that it’s a touching motif.
This challenging character, or lack of character, is ironically what keeps us engaged. Her teacher, her teacher’s ex and her father, who has recently lost his wife, are seen squirming around Annie, trying to hide things, explain things, and to treat her like…well, a child. Yet away from Annie the adult world is a very complicated place.
All three members of the cast project a very clear character. Helen Ziegler in particular as the teacher, Cassie, is extremely gifted in expressing her emotional state with the slightest tweaks in gesture and facial expression. One of the marks of a good actor. Charlie Holt as the irascible slightly unhinged ex, Ben, is an actor with a fantastically authoritative yet dulcet voice that beckons the ear whilst it genuinely terrifies when his character flares up. Peter Clapp lacks the emotional nuances of the father, and yet his jerky movements and abrupt facial changes express his misery adequately enough. All three cope in different ways with the invisible girl with whom they share stage time.
There was a certain amount lacking in the production though. Macabre, oppressive atmospheres in abnormal worlds seem to take Campion’s fancy, however in this play I felt that this made the viewing too heavy, and in particular there were funny lines I couldn’t laugh at as a result. Furthermore, the play felt condensed and perhaps cut too short. In the situation depicted there was nothing everyday, but only minute after minute of high-tension conversation: I really wanted to see the characters when not in persuasive or vituperative dialogue or highly-sensitized monologue. That would have been more bearable had there been more props of plots to retain the attention, but the burden of visual interest is placed solely on poor Annie…As if she’s not having enough of a hard time already!
This is certainly worth a look this week. It makes for heavy viewing but good acting and the ‘presence of Annie’ makes this a unique experience.