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As soon as I walked into The Nomad Theatre for the production of HOUSE I knew it was going to be a good night. Draped above the foyer was a roll of wallpaper covered in writing and drawings, it transpired this was the outcome of a day's workshop with the cast and these words formed ideas for the production I was about to see. These words enticed the audience into the auditorium.
HOUSE was performed once, it was created by 70 people following one workshop, 3 meetings and 6 short days of rehearsal. To produce a play in this time is a great achievement, but HOUSE was an extraordinary achievement as most of the actors in this production were disabled, this was the first time some had worked together and for others it was their first time on stage. Having read this information in the programme before the show, I was already impressed.
HOUSE was an imaginative adventure through the history of a home, the characters were not human but the normally inanimate everyday objects we find lying around our homes. HOUSE opened with the atmospheric sound of rain, created by the cast's hands and feet, cast and helpers were visible throughout the play on the bare stage with just scaffolding, allowing the band to be perfectly placed above the action- Staging the play like this celebrated the collaborative nature of this production and allowed for smooth set changes and unusual sound effects. The storm uncovered a diary, a narrator for the show, performed by Tim Veasna using his electronic voicebox for speech and brilliantly conveying the cheeky nature of the diary through his expressive eyes and smile. The audience was introduced to a whole host of characters from chairs, paintings, uniforms to the more surreal unexploded German bomb. We learnt about the history of the house, uncovered romance and resolved feuds. This House was fun, the 41 actors were enthusiastic and talented and everyone shone in this production. It is impossible to mention everyone but James Chilton and Dennis O'Donnell gave excellent performances, the musical abilities of Wendy Hempkin, Angela Cutagar and Anne Docwra showed great skill and the movement of Jason Russell and Phillippa Bartlett added to the comic pleasure of this play.
If it's fair to criticise this event, then it would be to suggest that the play was too text based which did not allow for all the actors to show their breadth of expression and ability through movement. The production qualities were highly professional and all those who devised the staging, music, lights, sound, costume, props, movement and script deserve enormous credit for this entertaining production. It is a credit to The Nomads that they have a theatre that is fully accessible and such creative and committed members.
I'm delighted to hear that there will be another play in a week next year, but one of the greatest challenges for this project is not disability but the lack of funds and people available for transport to get disabled actors to and from the theatre. If you or your organisation can help please contact Bill Pearson on 01306 730582. This House was domestic bliss, may there be many more theatrical adventures to come.
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