Tonight was an evening of two plays, one short, one less short, but the action started before the audience were seated with characters roaming into the foyer. Pop-up theatre doesn't always mix with the conventional although it did a set the tone for the evening.
Both plays are enjoyable and reasonably thought provoking.
‘Breakfast with Chamberlain’ is set in pre-WWII and explores the emotions caused by an impending war; it features a surly janitor trying to maintain order as the world crumbles around him. Frustration holds the key to the performance and it leaves the viewer questioning who the janitor really is? Perhaps he is a deity in his last days trying to prevent his creations from destroying themselves? Or does this happen when the toy-box lid closes and the lights go out? One nice touch is the food that is consumed at the 1939 breakfast table (a crumpet and a banana) would soon be in short supply.
The second play ‘Glory Days’ is a fragmented affair. A dinner party descends into independent discussions with several characters overlapping. Next, a guerrilla counsellor offers advice to a woman who can’t decide if she is giving birth to an essay or a cake, while an office manager and her assistant spar with internal demons and infernal memos. It all plays out very Joseph Heller and Catch 22. The counsellor returns to tackle the unhinged manager, who really begins to shine in the closing moments, twisting her tale to end on a sombre note. The constant switching back to the dinner party scene provides a nice frame until there is a full realisation of the apocalyptic finale that is approaching.
Sometimes there are occasional elements of absurdity for the sake of it. Even the most loosely structured work should have a strong foundation. However both plays are enjoyable and reasonably thought provoking.
