Southend Shakespeare Company
present
HOME
by David Storey
31st October - 4th November 2017
present
HOME
by David Storey
31st October - 4th November 2017
Southend Shakespeare Company's next production, Home features a day in the life of five characters: three men and two women. Each character is flawed, but not so much to pose any danger to the other. Their behaviour is subtle and suggestive. While the women are tough and strong, the men are emotional wrecks who put on a brave face to disguise their inner pain.
David Storey’s writing, which is a sly blend of Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, is full of non-sequiturs, puns and absurdities. The text is a continuous exchange of gags, carefully timed, to appear as ordinary conversation. Written for the common person’s ear and completely reliant upon the actor’s timing and delivery, Home gathers its strength out of subtext where it's not what the characters are saying that’s important. It’s what they’re hiding that draws our attention. One definition of home is described as “a place where one’s affections centre, or where one finds rest, refuge or satisfaction.”
But you're not totally convinced these characters will ever find it. It is the humanity of the work that is its strongest asset. Although Storey’s play is considered a comedy, Home is a work with pathos and we all feel it, no matter how big the laughs.
David Storey’s writing, which is a sly blend of Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, is full of non-sequiturs, puns and absurdities. The text is a continuous exchange of gags, carefully timed, to appear as ordinary conversation. Written for the common person’s ear and completely reliant upon the actor’s timing and delivery, Home gathers its strength out of subtext where it's not what the characters are saying that’s important. It’s what they’re hiding that draws our attention. One definition of home is described as “a place where one’s affections centre, or where one finds rest, refuge or satisfaction.”
But you're not totally convinced these characters will ever find it. It is the humanity of the work that is its strongest asset. Although Storey’s play is considered a comedy, Home is a work with pathos and we all feel it, no matter how big the laughs.
Bruce Moore, Jacquee Storozynski, Elliot Bigden, Sally Lightfoot and Chris Linnat-Scott in rehearsal
We talk to director, Malcolm Toll about why he chose this particular play to direct.
"There were quite a few reasons behind putting the play forward," he explains. "Firstly, I have known the play for some time and it was always there when I thought about plays [to direct], especially after directing No Mans Land a few years ago. I got so much pleasure directing that, so was always looking for an opportunity to do this one."
Another appeal was that the play only required a small cast and so, with the very large cast that Southend Shakespeare Company have involved in their November production, Macbeth, there were also practical reasons for producing Home.
Malcolm, was also drawn to the challenge of trying something a bit different from the last play he directed, When We Are Married. He tells me, "The play has been a challenge for everyone but it has been a joy to direct such talented actors who have risen to the occasion. The mixture of comedy and sadness is wonderful and they have created some really memorable characters. It has been a fantastic few months and I feel privileged to be lucky enough to be involved in it."
"There were quite a few reasons behind putting the play forward," he explains. "Firstly, I have known the play for some time and it was always there when I thought about plays [to direct], especially after directing No Mans Land a few years ago. I got so much pleasure directing that, so was always looking for an opportunity to do this one."
Another appeal was that the play only required a small cast and so, with the very large cast that Southend Shakespeare Company have involved in their November production, Macbeth, there were also practical reasons for producing Home.
Malcolm, was also drawn to the challenge of trying something a bit different from the last play he directed, When We Are Married. He tells me, "The play has been a challenge for everyone but it has been a joy to direct such talented actors who have risen to the occasion. The mixture of comedy and sadness is wonderful and they have created some really memorable characters. It has been a fantastic few months and I feel privileged to be lucky enough to be involved in it."
