June 8, 2008
Headlong Theatre continues to find inventive ways to tell new stories, such as this tale told from the edge of a cricket match, ‘the English game’. An effortlessly elegant theme of the play is the theatrical subculture of cricket. The writer, Richard Bean, uses his experience of playing the Sunday Friendly circuit for Actors Anonymous to create 13 believable characters who during the running time of 2 hours and 10 minutes share their lives with the audience. There is an obvious link with the writer’s passion for the game in thespian Clive (John Lightbody) who fluxes between the alluring confidence and avid insecurity that can be the outward display of an actor’s ego. The revelations include those of the flesh as bare backsides are revealed as the men change where they stand for the pavilion is yet to be repaired. Contemporary life issues that the stage portrays so well are easily unearthed during this team sport such as the doom-ridden finality of young Olly’s (Marcus Onilude) forthcoming marriage. The on-stage Sunday team all in cricket whites gel in spite of differences such as Paul’s (Ifan Meredith) inability to confirm his availability by telephoning stickler-for-detail Will. This unity is due to a great device in the form of a common enemy, namely the bitterly tart umpire Bernard (Peter Bourke).
The emotions of working together as a group however soon turn nasty. Alan (Andrew Frame) is deeply offended by the criticism leveled at his hand-crafted score board and shows a touching vulnerability. Meanwhile the action of the game in progress is documented by balls landing on stage and voices coming from the back of the theatre. The set is a laid turf full of fold up chairs, water bottles and sports kit. This team is feminist, so no women are allowed to make the tea that is laid out on a trestle table. At the end of the show the unmistakable sound of English birdsong signals dusk, quite literally for one player. The family unit of three generations in grandfather Len (Trevor Martin), father Will (Robert East) and son Ruben (Jamie Samuel) all playing different roles in the game is my enduring memory of the immortality of the sport. Even though Will states ‘I’ve wasted the whole of my life playing this game…I’m not even sure I like it anymore…’ there is an innate positivity to this obsession. For some of the players it is the only thing that keeps them going. During the game off-duty doctor Theo (Howard Ward) informally makes potentially life-saving observations. However it’s not all stoically deep and meaningful as Thiz (Sean Murray) the burnt out rock guitarist is sheer entertainment with his jokes and bodacious pursuit for the good times. The tragedy of the piece drops out in the relationship between Sean (Tony Bell) and unwittingly racist newcomer Reg (Fred Ridgeway) with Rudi Dharmalingam playing hot young Asian bowler Nick. Sean Holmes directs this revelatory ensemble piece that bowls this maiden over.
The emotions of working together as a group however soon turn nasty. Alan (Andrew Frame) is deeply offended by the criticism leveled at his hand-crafted score board and shows a touching vulnerability. Meanwhile the action of the game in progress is documented by balls landing on stage and voices coming from the back of the theatre. The set is a laid turf full of fold up chairs, water bottles and sports kit. This team is feminist, so no women are allowed to make the tea that is laid out on a trestle table. At the end of the show the unmistakable sound of English birdsong signals dusk, quite literally for one player. The family unit of three generations in grandfather Len (Trevor Martin), father Will (Robert East) and son Ruben (Jamie Samuel) all playing different roles in the game is my enduring memory of the immortality of the sport. Even though Will states ‘I’ve wasted the whole of my life playing this game…I’m not even sure I like it anymore…’ there is an innate positivity to this obsession. For some of the players it is the only thing that keeps them going. During the game off-duty doctor Theo (Howard Ward) informally makes potentially life-saving observations. However it’s not all stoically deep and meaningful as Thiz (Sean Murray) the burnt out rock guitarist is sheer entertainment with his jokes and bodacious pursuit for the good times. The tragedy of the piece drops out in the relationship between Sean (Tony Bell) and unwittingly racist newcomer Reg (Fred Ridgeway) with Rudi Dharmalingam playing hot young Asian bowler Nick. Sean Holmes directs this revelatory ensemble piece that bowls this maiden over.