Tezza's Theatre Place

Athena Stevens and Jonathan McGuinness – Photo by Stephen Cummiskey Playwrights like to manipulate people. When they pen a show, they will write certain characters from certain angles in order to get the audience to feel a certain way about them. Sometimes, this is just something that happens, based on where the show is meant to go. Sometimes though, this audience manipulation is a deliberate act on the part of a playwright determined to make the audience think a certain way. A prime example of this can be found in Athena Stevens play  Schism  which has just opened at the Park Theatre. Schism  is the story of two people and their twenty-year relationship together. It starts back in Chicago in 1998 where failed architect turned maths teacher Harrison (Jonathan McGuinness) is contemplating suicide in his small house. As the radio fills the air with the ‘wise words’ of Shumaker, Harrison starts to swallow tablets. He goes on doing this until he is suddenly interrupted by...

Laura Rogers & David Haig in Pressure. Photo by Robert Day Any time you fancy doing something that involves leaving home, what do you do? You check the weather. Be it, watching a forecast on the TV, hearing it on the radio, checking on your phone or reading it in the paper, we all rely on a dedicated team of forecasters to let us know if the BBQ is on or if we are sitting in watching Bad TV this bank holiday. Now, for a moment turn your thoughts to the forecaster. If they get it right, then nobody remembers, but if they get it wrong, then they are never allowed to forget it – Michael Fish’s 1987 hurricane for example. Ultimately, we rely on the weather forecast most days to decide what we will wear or where we will be going. But imagine if you need to know the weather before going ahead with something not just important but which could ultimately change the course of human history and just think about what it would be like to be the person tasked with producing that forecast. Tha...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/198816/review-philip-ridleys-vincent-river-park-theatre/ Vincent River – Thomas Mahy (Davey) Louise Jameson (Anita) Photo by David Monteith Hodge Losing a son or daughter must be devastating for any parent, but when that loss is the result of murder and nobody has been brought to justice then the pain and need for answers must be almost unbearable. This is the starting point for Philip Ridley’s one-act play  Vincent River currently in residence at the Park Theatre. Anita (Louise Jameson) has recently moved into a flat in Dagenham. The flat is a bit of a tip, and she hasn’t really done much about unpacking, but she is glad to be away from her old estate. Anita has moved because of the sniping and gossip following the murder of her son, Vincent, in a surprising and unlikely location. She is pleased to be away from everyone and is looking forward to starting a new life with no more prying eyes and wagging tongues. However, today she is not alo...