By james art Sheila’s Island is Tim Firth’s female version of his original all-male dark comedy Neville’s Island. This time the island is somewhere in the Lake District, where four colleagues are on one of those awful bonding exercises that companies indulge in to use up business grants.
However, the team games become reality when Sheila, the leader of the group, capsizes the rowboat at the weekend work party and they become stranded on a small, foggy island.
Sheila is played by Zeena Forrest and is joined by three other Crescent actors Michaela Redican, Deronie Pettyfer and Jenny Thurston as Denise, Julie and Fay respectively. I’ve seen all of these actors deliver excellent performances in previous productions, so I have no doubt that their pace and pitch will pick up when they hit the ground running. On first listen, however, with the exception of Forrest, who at least had some tonal depth to her voice, action single dialogue lacked audibility and definition.
There was also a lack of movement to hold our attention. Unless you were seated directly in the middle of the hall, it was hard to feel any inclusion as everything was delivered center stage and right in front of you.
Photo by Graeme Braidwood Photography. s
Keith Harris’ set with a touch of Phil Parson’s construction magic offers a perfect canvas for the action with its centuries-old towering trees, dense greenery and eerie vistas. Too bad Harris’ eyesight is almost gone. Since the play is set on an island, the Studio’s flexible auditorium sought to position the audience on at least two and possibly three sides and allow the actors to play in the semicircle. The vantage point would be within the audience and could be used a bit like an all-seeing eye, as was the Juliet balcony at the old Crescent Theatre.
Chris Briggs’ lighting was as superb as Harris’s set, actually perfect for a Halloween party. Paul Forrest has designed some effective sound offerings and the wardrobe and property teams tick the right boxes once again. One small note – the smoke/fog machine needs a steady stream and positioned higher so it falls instead of looking like a steaming stagehand.
There must have been an interval team talk as act two was better than act one and we got to see some character development – Denise showing her true bitch colors, Julie bordering on the insane, newborn Christian Fay actually crossing that line and Sheila does her best to herd cats.
Photo by Graeme Braidwood Photography. s
Tim Firth’s performance is flawed and as such needs imaginative direction to rise above caricature. On first viewing, there’s little evidence that Frankie Hayden-White and Kevin Middleton have done enough to pull this off, but as the theater says by last night’s talk, it’s ‘Early Days’.
Kicking off a new run at the Crescent Theater with a Saturday matinee is a wonderful idea to me – a full house was a sure sign that the audience agreed.
Unfortunately, for the cast of Sheila’s Island, it turned out to be more of a preview than a premiere.
Sheila’s Island runs at the Crescent until November 2. Click here for times, tickets and more information.
Review by Euan Rose
Reviews by Euan Rose