December 2, 2009
There was clearly a lot of heart and sincerity behind this play. I appreciate what it was trying to do, and it’s a noble endeavour. The difficulty comes in turning the lives of real people, some of who are still alive, into a successful piece of theatre, and in this I didn’t feel State Affair entirely succeeded.
The play is a compilation of real life stories about people living in a Bradford Council Estate during the Thatcher years. Told through a series of monologues, using those people’s own words, it follows lives sabotaged by circumstance and eventually destroyed by drug abuse. Though there were one or two small glimmers of sunshine, the audience were for the most part subjected to litany of tragedies in which all the usual suspects of modern day evil appear. Underage sex, broken families, gang membership, teen pregnancy, child abuse and lots and lots of drugs were the sad order of the day.
Though the stories in reality are powerful, they simply have not survived their incarnation on stage. A State Affair ended up playing out as an anti-drugs/pro-religion cautionary tale. The actors all clearly believed in what they were doing, and perhaps this added to the problem: some suffered from that over-earnest acting that happens when someone is trying too hard to be serious.
Two notable exceptions were some really rather convincing shaking to accompany withdrawal symptoms and the easy going manner of Louisa Hollway. Hollway played Marie, a down-and-out addict, with a comfortable, easygoing and almost amused demeanour. This was not only a welcome contrast, but also somehow had more reality. When Marie talked it felt like a person talking to you, rather then an actor trying to convey a point.
In the end, I really respect the idea behind A State Affair, but as a piece of theatre it did not live up to that idea. Perhaps it will reincarnate after this current tour; after all there is definitely something here that’s worth telling.
The play is a compilation of real life stories about people living in a Bradford Council Estate during the Thatcher years. Told through a series of monologues, using those people’s own words, it follows lives sabotaged by circumstance and eventually destroyed by drug abuse. Though there were one or two small glimmers of sunshine, the audience were for the most part subjected to litany of tragedies in which all the usual suspects of modern day evil appear. Underage sex, broken families, gang membership, teen pregnancy, child abuse and lots and lots of drugs were the sad order of the day.
Though the stories in reality are powerful, they simply have not survived their incarnation on stage. A State Affair ended up playing out as an anti-drugs/pro-religion cautionary tale. The actors all clearly believed in what they were doing, and perhaps this added to the problem: some suffered from that over-earnest acting that happens when someone is trying too hard to be serious.
Two notable exceptions were some really rather convincing shaking to accompany withdrawal symptoms and the easy going manner of Louisa Hollway. Hollway played Marie, a down-and-out addict, with a comfortable, easygoing and almost amused demeanour. This was not only a welcome contrast, but also somehow had more reality. When Marie talked it felt like a person talking to you, rather then an actor trying to convey a point.
In the end, I really respect the idea behind A State Affair, but as a piece of theatre it did not live up to that idea. Perhaps it will reincarnate after this current tour; after all there is definitely something here that’s worth telling.