The Shorts 2.0 Festival reconvened after the Covid outbreak that cancelled out its December performances with all concerned having an extra two months to rehearse. And it showed, writes Elizabeth Paul.
First on was Free, a deep and complex work involving a couple with a baby and the ashes of a loved one who had recently passed on. For closure they placed the belongings of the deceased outside in boxes marked FREE for people to take away. ‘People can take the sadness away,’ the wife told the man grieving for his mother.
These measures seemed to help overcome the grief, so more stuff was put outside in FREE boxes. Albums, framed photos… Life was good and their relationship appeared to be returning to normal. Then their crying baby went in a FREE box in a comic sound effect scene, although I think I was the only one who laughed.
Eventually, the couple was so into cleaning out their lives that they dispensed with clothes because they got dirty and needed washing, until, finally, they stopped living a normal life and put themselves in a box marked FREE.
It was a strange play with strong acting, with a message of sorts that I didn’t really pick up on but knew was there. Perhaps how people grieve differently. Maybe how some people take their beliefs to the extreme. The message was in there somewhere. Maybe in a box.
Nevertheless, it seems that the organisers left the best to last in this evening of two short plays because 39 & Out definitely produced a spectacular grand finale.
Earlier, I had found the 3-man crew in the bar, running lines after a last-minute run-through with the tech team. After last year’s cancellation, Nick Howard (Jimmy) and Ed Hay (Tommy) have used the extra time to fine-tune their performances with extra rehearsals, sometimes over Zoom but mainly meeting in houses, classrooms and offices to turn this marvellous text in to a comedy masterpiece.
Michael Holland, the writer and director said, ‘They don’t need me any more, they have taken all my direction on board and raised the script to another level where they are now adding their own stuff, like the small nuanced looks and reactions that have made it much more comedic – It’s beautiful to watch them go to work.’
39 & Out is a slice of reality cut from Tom and Jim’s slightly pathetic lives. Not just unlucky at cards but unlucky in love, too, as we eavesdrop on them while they nurse their beers in a pub. These men are ‘not at the peak of their existence’ says the poster promoting this play about two friends.
When a woman enters and saunters across the bar, Jimmy’s pulse is turned up to eleven and from then on the conversation turns to their failed love lives, and what they can do to change things around.
Jimmy is seemingly the voice of reason, but as the power between these close pals flows to and fro we see this is not a war of attrition between them but a battle of banter as they struggle to hide their innermost fears behind jokes and laughter.
Talk of speed dating soon turns to their symptoms of ageing fast and concocting a cunning plan to attract women that involves being more like Countdown’s ‘suave’ presenters.
With both their insecurities of growing old rising to the surface, drastic action needs to be taken, and that gave us a finish that involved black leather gloves and House Of Pain’s Jump Around that had everyone in stitches.
39 & Out is a tragicomedy of the highest order and full marks goes to the writer, but the way Nick Howard and Ed Hay bring the text to life is a masterclass in acting.
This festival has a good cross-section of excellent writing and acting and is on for another 7 nights. If this first night is an indication of what is to follow, then the festival will be a winner.
For more information and booking details: https://www.whitebeartheatre.co.uk/
Shorts 2 is on at White Bear Theatre, 138 Kennington Park Road, London, SE11 4DJ. Admission: £12, £10
February 24th 25th, 26th,
March 9th, 10th, 11th.
Photo: M. Holland
The last rehearsal of 39 & Out can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYgLYy__Y88