An uplifting urban love story of Jamie, and his classmate and neighbour Ste. Together on an inner city housing estate, the teenagers discover comedy, warmth, and the music of Mama Cass through their loud-mouthed next door neighbour Leah. This play exquisitely captures what it is to be 16, full of hope and optimism, and falling for your first love.
This amateur production is presented by special arrangement with Independent Talent Group Ltd.
CAST
Jamie
Jak Truswell
Leah
Rosina Reading
Sandra
Jemma Froggitt
Ste
Sean Radford
Tony
Damian Frendo
Ronnie
Gareth Morris
"Beautiful Thing"
Nottingham Lace Market Theatre
There have been several times when I have really looked forward to seeing a production; I've built my expectations and hopes up only for the production to let me down. WELL NOT THIS ONE!! This show met and exceeded all my expectations.
"Beautiful Thing" is a play written by Jonathan Harvey, the same man who gave us the brilliant "Gimme Gimme Gimme" for TV, but, for anyone who knows nothing of this play, it's quite different from the TV comedy. Basically this is a love story between two people, it just so happens that the two people in question are two teenage boys. We can all remember falling in love for the first time and that awkwardness, the shyness, the not wanting to be rejected by the other one, and this is what this play is all about.
Ste and Jamie are neighbours and go to the same school. Ste is the sports fan and Jamie can't stand sports, but it's when Ste seeks out the solace of Jamie's home after being hit by his abusive father, that the protective feelings start to materialise with Jamie which develop into what is a tender and sweet love story.
Jamie, played by Jak Truswell, makes all the running after tending to Ste, played by Sean Radford, and his bruises as they share Jamie's bed, top and tailing. Both actors have played the roles in the past and they make both characters believable. The initial awkwardness is also packed with nervous tension and you really feel for Jamie as he's unsure how Ste will react. You could cut the atmosphere in the Lace Market Theatre with a knife, as well hearing pins drop. I, along with the rest of the audience, hung on to every word and action. A tribute to Sean and Jak's understanding of the characters and their acting abilities.
The other roles are also very character driven and the very talented cast gave wonderful performances.
Sandra, Jamie's mum, at first sight is a slightly selfish and unloving mother but as the play devolops she turns out to be just what Jamie needs. The touching scene where she confronts Jamie about his sexuality after his visit to a gay bar with Ste, is quite emotional and lovely. Jemma Froggitt plays Sandra with great gusto, showing that hard Southern outer surface but with a compassionate and tender underbelly. The scene where Sandra and Jamie are fighting is so realistic, you can hear, and almost feel, the slaps they trade, making you take a sharp intake of breath.
Leah, the neighbour, is of the same age of the lads and is a drop out from school. She loves the music of Mama Cass, which provides the soundtrack to her life as well as the play. Leah is a tough cookie who really just wants to be loved, which, although she finds a bitter enemy in Sandra, they seem to be cut from the same cloth. This makes the ending even more emotive. Leah is a very different role from those I've seen Rosina Reading play in the past and it was good to see the fire in her role. Her drug scene is awkwardly comical to watch as you're not sure whether you should be laughing at the pitiful, and dangerous situation Leah has put herself in.
Tony is Sandra's latest, well the fourth, boyfriend of late. A hippy artist who is so laid back, he's almost horizontal. Damian Frendo plays Tony who is just a bit too suffocating for Sandra and while Ste and Jamie's affections rise, Sandra and Tony's is on the wane, well from Sandra's side that is. The wardrobe department didn't have to work too hard on Tony's outfits!
This play is the directorial debut for Bex Mason, but I feel that this may not be the last because she has given us a sensitive and emotional piece of theatre, bringing the play up to date from it's 1993 creation, injecting modern references to One Direction, the TV show "Pointless" and Sam Smith to make sure it's kept fresh. A wonderful job done.
The set is split into two sections. the three doors for the three neighbours and a smaller section for Jamie's bedroom. Realistically created and functional designed by Max Bromley. And for the record, that bed is just right for one person and let's face it, Sandra, I'm sure wasn't expecting Jamie to be sharing it with anyone on a permanent basis, especially at fifteen years old, but it looked like it could be pretty toasty snuggled up to someone else under that quilt!
Sensitive lighting design created day and night and gave the impression of passing time, ably created by Matthew Allcock, Charlie Bailey, Allan Green, Peter Hodgkinson and Rosina Reading. Again the end lighting effects created just the loveliest of final scenes. The sound engineers normally only get a mention if the sound is bad and jarring, but it was perfect; I could hear every word and the sound of the Mama Cass records played by Leah gave the effect that the music was from her house, giving spacial awareness to the settings. Another pat on the back to Charlie, Peter, Matthew and Teya Simone.
As I said, this production exceeded everything I was hoping for. I love this play for the messages it gives out in a comical, but at the same time sensitive way and while homophobia may still be a reality today, this play gives out the wonderful message that it doesn't matter who you fall in love with, as long as you fall in love. it also shows that you can't always judge a book by the cover. It's ending, in my mind, is one of the best because you always feel like punching the air and whispering "yessss!"
"Beautiful Thing" is on at The Nottingham Lace Market Theatre until Saturday 23 January 2016 and I would urge everyone to try and see this show. It's a beautiful piece of theatre presented by an amazing cast and produced by a wonderful theatre group.
Read the original article here.
Beautiful Thing at Lace Market Theatre, Nottingham: Review
Five people living on the same floor of a Thamesmead tower block doesn't sound much like the stuff of penetrating and rewarding theatre.
It might be the initial premise for a TV sitcom or sketch perhaps, but nothing more.
But Beautiful Thing, here directed by Bex Mason, is a compelling, well-crafted play, which says a lot of important things.
And it assumes that its audience is adult enough to draw its own conclusions, if any, about the issues raised.
Fifteen-year-old Jamie (Jak Truswell) lives with mother Sandra (Jemma Froggitt) and, sometimes, her latest boyfriend Tony (Damian Frendo).
Next door they've got Leah (Rosina Reading) and her mother, and on the other side of Leah, Steve (Sean Radford), 16, coping with his drunkard father.
A gay relationship develops between the two youths.
The over-riding point about the relationship that it's a loving, mutually supportive one, between two emotionally deprived and confused young people beset by hostility, real and potential.
It's partly down to Jonathan Harvey's writing that every one of his characters is sympathetic.
But in this production it's also the overall quality of acting that persuades us to care about these people.
Truswell gives the stand-out performance.
There are no soap-like histrionics or over-emphasis; he makes Jamie completely believable.
Jamie and Steve are two well differentiated people; with distinct problems, except that each is struggling to face up to and accept his sexuality.
Truswell's and Radford's are two complementary performances.
Froggitt's work, excellent as it is, fails to exploit the full potentiality of her lines.
Some of the best ones are wholly or partially lost in the rush, meaning fewer laughs.
More crucially, these same lines are written to reveal the character of a resilient, hard-working, resourceful and loving mother; they need to be appreciated.
Reading, clearly a versatile actor, sometimes over-does the low-life gesticulation and line delivery of her character.
It's a beautifully designed and dressed set. Except that is, Jamie's bed is too short and his bedding too skimpy for one person, let alone two.
But, oddly, this a problem in all plays involving beds.
This is about people at the bottom of the social pile sometimes trying to do the right thing. In mainstream terms their families are dysfunctional.
But the very last scene, somewhat under-exploited in this production, demonstrates that, independently, they've fashioned a new way of coping with life, perhaps as functional as any other.
Read the original article here.
Beautiful Thing: Divine and Daunting
On a cold Monday evening, there is no better place to go to than a cosy warm theatre to see the Lace Market Theatre’s production of Beautiful Thing, written by Jonathan Harvey and wonderfully directed by Bex Mason. So that is exactly what I did.
Harvey’s story follows Jamie, a fifteen year-old boy living on a council estate with his mother Sandra and her hippie boyfriend Tony. Nearby also resides two neighbours, Ste and Leah, and soon Jamie and Ste discover feelings for each other. In their uneasy, prejudiced home environment, both feel they have to hide their affections – particularly against Ste’s abusive father.
But the play was still filled with plenty of wonderful ‘awww’ moments, and you really do fall in love the characters. And when you’re sitting in the audience you become totally immersed, thanks largely to the actors who did an amazing job portraying such well-rounded characters. The chemistry between all the actors was brilliant, but this was especially true with Ste (Sean Radford) and Jamie (Jak Truswell).
That said, the relationship between Sandra (Jemma Froggitt) and Tony (Damian Frendo) was simply hilarious - even if her narrative arch sees her come to a realisation of how smothering he really is. Frequently she lavishly pours her heart to the audience about the difficulties to being a single mother, and these generous bits of direct appeal also sit nicely beside Leah’s wonderful, light-hearted singing, portrayed expertly by Rosina Reading. Between them, this cast vividly brings to life a world that is at once both harsh and beautiful, endearing and daunting.
Equally the scenery, designed by Max Bromley, really helped reinforce the atmosphere of the piece too. Along with the lights and sound (by Kerry Newcombe, Charlie Bailey and Peter Hodgekinson), Bromley’s cleverly constructed setting made the audience feel like omniscient witnesses to an unravelling, innocent romance. The positioning of the bedroom next to the main stage was ingenious and really leant it a sense of privacy and cosiness for us as viewers.
It should also be mentioned that, although the play sticks mainly to the original script, Bex Mason did cleverly change some of the older 90’s references in the play to ones that could relate to a contemporary audience. But in reality, that too helped us slide into this sense of being behind closed doors, because these updated references once again made Beautiful Thing feel like it could be set in our very own neighbourhood again.
So overall Beautiful Thing proved to be a must watch for those that need their heart warmed this winter! The performances at the Lace Market Theatre continue to be excellent, and readers really should keep an eye out LMT’s future productions.
Read the original article here.
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