Two railings of clothes, colour co-ordinated like a second hand rainbow, stand either side of Kate Craddock as she hands out raffle tickets to the audience as they enter. I hope youre feeling lucky today she beams at me with piercing eyes as I settle into my seat, perfectly foreshadowing the sweetness and yet sharp perceptivity which permeates her one woman show, Hand-me-Down.
The structure of the show has been inspired by how items and objects lie side by side within the world of a charity shop which would have no relation in the world outside. As such we see the story of Rose unfold, an old lady whose life is revealed through old clothes and letters found in a dress-up hamper, alongside that of a sloany gap year student who travels to Africa to help build orphanages and a young girl growing up in a house solely centered around the idea of giving, amongst an array of others.
The stage is cleverly dressed and is imaginatively versatile. Bendy desk lights which have been attached to the clothes rails, old tape players, pieces of bric a brac and an old glowing globe enable Craddock to create a number of times and places whilst maintaining the authenticity of having done it all from things that could be found in a charity shop.
Hidden away within this simple, effective setting are to be found some real gems of characters which Craddock plays subtly and delicately with a palpable sense of astute observation. Like delicately woven items of clothing, the women in this piece are all infused with unique and brilliantly observed strands of life, coming together to create detailed and real people whom Craddock presents and quietly critiques in equal measure. My particular favourite was the West London girl who takes a gap year because all her friends are doing it, her plumy voice and scarf and pink baseball cap perfectly evoking such a person without the slightest trace of caricature.
This is a sweetly constructed piece which cleverly looks at the nature of charity shop giving and the various honourable and not so honourable reasons for doing it. The impetus for the piece is Craddocks own experience of growing up in nothing but second hand clothes and the personal slant to this show is touching and beautifully translated. However I think that it could have spoken more powerfully on the political side of charity giving and the Bob Geldof reference and charity bomb sequence are slightly unfocused. But this is a strong piece of work, which nicely asks us all to think about how we deal with the idea of make do and mend and how, in this consumer world, we treat our fellow men when what they need are our belongings.
