Hoffman Productions present
The Tube
written by Michael Reddihough
The Dixon Studio, The Palace Theatre, Westcliff-on-Sea
21st May 2016
The Tube
written by Michael Reddihough
The Dixon Studio, The Palace Theatre, Westcliff-on-Sea
21st May 2016
Aware of the fact that I was seeing an original play, written and directed for the first time by Michael Reddihough, I confess that thoughts did enter my head along the lines of ‘God, I hope this isn't going to be awful…’ I’ve seen enough original plays that have made me lose the will to live half way through; often due to a severe lack of original subject matter. The fact that this is a one act play and knowing that it was going to be just an hour and twenty minutes long did appeal, however, and I so I picked up my ticket from the box office which would take me on the journey taking place in The Dixon Studio.
The small studio is an ideal setting for a play like The Tube. Set up ‘in the round’ with the audience closely surrounding the stage from four angles, it gives an ideal playing space, with the opportunity to create the feel of the tube train inside which the actors are performing. As a set, you probably couldn’t get much simpler with cushioned green benches opposite each other giving a clear indication that this was the inside of a tube train. Not that the title of the play wouldn’t nudge you into thinking that this is what the benches were for anyway and just in case you may have been in any doubt, the music playing as the audience filled the auditorium was all train related - ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ being one that immediately springs to mind. This may have been a trifle flippant, given the subject matter covered within the play but being plugged as a black comedy, I suppose this didn’t really matter.
Before the tube leaves the station, we hear voice overs of politicians and prime ministers in heady debate, setting the scene for what is to come. I did think that this went on for rather too long and I was also slightly unclear as to what the actual message was here.
The play concerns the underground journey of six commuters who, in normal circumstances, would probably never even so much as nod ‘hello’ to one another had the journey taken its usual course. Above ground people are gathering for a peaceful anti-bomb rally. Needless to say this particular journey is far from usual and soon comes to a grinding halt. With the threat of terrorism ever present in London commuters’ minds, the concerned passengers are told that there is something on the line disrupting their journey and which ultimately forces the tense travellers to communicate with each other - and not always with the best intentions.
Each character was clearly defined and played with convincing believability. Max (Mike Reddihough), the posh City worker with his head in the Telegraph newspaper and worrying about a deal he’d set up and the engaged couple, Sarah (Hannah Giles) and George (Jamie Evans), who were heading off to the rally, bickering about trivialities. Pregnant woman, Claire (Alice Ryan), trying to keep herself to herself despite the overly closeness of the perhaps rather stereotypically outspoken, neanderthal builder-type man, John (Daniel Smy) and with the addition of back-packed Muslim, Ahmed (Jay Whtye), being amongst the passengers, and with all the talk of bombs and terrorism, there is enough fuel to start off fiery conversations between the six commuters leading to heated arguments and resulting in extreme consequences.
With such a minimal set the audience need to feel that they are realistically viewing the goings on inside the London Underground tube train and this worked effectively for most of the play, however, when Sarah and George join the commute, their movement up and down the carriage didn’t quite sit right with me. Would people who were going to an anti-bombing rally really parade up and down the carriage airing their views loudly in front of other commuters? Despite this, they had a nice chemistry and I enjoyed watching their respective put-downs and banter.
The ensuing dialogue between all the characters, together with the tense action, kept me firmly gripped and despite the subject matter there were a good amount of laughs included in this very well put together and frequently witty script. This is testament, not just to the way the play is written, but to the actors, all of whom were excellent in their parts. Aided by sound cues and incidental music which kept up the pace, there was never a dull moment and with a surprising amount of twists and turns the suspense was kept throughout.
Without spoiling anything for future audiences of this play, for I feel it needs to be seen again (a play perfect for any future Fringe festivals), the resulting conclusion of the piece is wrapped up satisfyingly well although, again, there was a slight delay in-between this and the final curtain which I’m sure was possibly down to technical issues on the matinee performance which I attended.
Michael Reddihough has more than proved that he has what it takes to write a topical, clever and funny script which digs deep into the human psyche and enables the audience to really connect to his well formed characters. With some very clever twists in the plot, his script has the power to lean the audiences' compassion towards his characters and also manages to draw out some fabulous humour as well as providing a few shock factors along the way. Michael has also done well to direct his own piece of work considering that he also plays the character of Max. For a first attempt at playwriting, I feel certain that this is not the last we’ll be hearing of Michael Reddihough and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for this talented writer.
The small studio is an ideal setting for a play like The Tube. Set up ‘in the round’ with the audience closely surrounding the stage from four angles, it gives an ideal playing space, with the opportunity to create the feel of the tube train inside which the actors are performing. As a set, you probably couldn’t get much simpler with cushioned green benches opposite each other giving a clear indication that this was the inside of a tube train. Not that the title of the play wouldn’t nudge you into thinking that this is what the benches were for anyway and just in case you may have been in any doubt, the music playing as the audience filled the auditorium was all train related - ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ being one that immediately springs to mind. This may have been a trifle flippant, given the subject matter covered within the play but being plugged as a black comedy, I suppose this didn’t really matter.
Before the tube leaves the station, we hear voice overs of politicians and prime ministers in heady debate, setting the scene for what is to come. I did think that this went on for rather too long and I was also slightly unclear as to what the actual message was here.
The play concerns the underground journey of six commuters who, in normal circumstances, would probably never even so much as nod ‘hello’ to one another had the journey taken its usual course. Above ground people are gathering for a peaceful anti-bomb rally. Needless to say this particular journey is far from usual and soon comes to a grinding halt. With the threat of terrorism ever present in London commuters’ minds, the concerned passengers are told that there is something on the line disrupting their journey and which ultimately forces the tense travellers to communicate with each other - and not always with the best intentions.
Each character was clearly defined and played with convincing believability. Max (Mike Reddihough), the posh City worker with his head in the Telegraph newspaper and worrying about a deal he’d set up and the engaged couple, Sarah (Hannah Giles) and George (Jamie Evans), who were heading off to the rally, bickering about trivialities. Pregnant woman, Claire (Alice Ryan), trying to keep herself to herself despite the overly closeness of the perhaps rather stereotypically outspoken, neanderthal builder-type man, John (Daniel Smy) and with the addition of back-packed Muslim, Ahmed (Jay Whtye), being amongst the passengers, and with all the talk of bombs and terrorism, there is enough fuel to start off fiery conversations between the six commuters leading to heated arguments and resulting in extreme consequences.
With such a minimal set the audience need to feel that they are realistically viewing the goings on inside the London Underground tube train and this worked effectively for most of the play, however, when Sarah and George join the commute, their movement up and down the carriage didn’t quite sit right with me. Would people who were going to an anti-bombing rally really parade up and down the carriage airing their views loudly in front of other commuters? Despite this, they had a nice chemistry and I enjoyed watching their respective put-downs and banter.
The ensuing dialogue between all the characters, together with the tense action, kept me firmly gripped and despite the subject matter there were a good amount of laughs included in this very well put together and frequently witty script. This is testament, not just to the way the play is written, but to the actors, all of whom were excellent in their parts. Aided by sound cues and incidental music which kept up the pace, there was never a dull moment and with a surprising amount of twists and turns the suspense was kept throughout.
Without spoiling anything for future audiences of this play, for I feel it needs to be seen again (a play perfect for any future Fringe festivals), the resulting conclusion of the piece is wrapped up satisfyingly well although, again, there was a slight delay in-between this and the final curtain which I’m sure was possibly down to technical issues on the matinee performance which I attended.
Michael Reddihough has more than proved that he has what it takes to write a topical, clever and funny script which digs deep into the human psyche and enables the audience to really connect to his well formed characters. With some very clever twists in the plot, his script has the power to lean the audiences' compassion towards his characters and also manages to draw out some fabulous humour as well as providing a few shock factors along the way. Michael has also done well to direct his own piece of work considering that he also plays the character of Max. For a first attempt at playwriting, I feel certain that this is not the last we’ll be hearing of Michael Reddihough and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for this talented writer.