Truly breathless production
CARYL Churchill is arguably regarded as the leading female British playwright of the past 50 years.
Her themes are generally along the lines of sexual politics, power ( and those who wield it) and feminism.
Full Throttle Theatre has chosen three of her shorter plays to make up its 3 Courses in Theatre this year.
The first offering is Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen. Originally a radio play, it is set in a city so polluted that breathing without assistance in the open air is nigh on impossible, and not all that easy inside either.
Mick ( Colin Livesy) shares his time inside his small flat with his companion and ( sometimes) lover Vivian ( Julie Johnston) as he awaits a much anticipated visit from his son Claude ( Damien Moston). All dialogue is cleverly delivered, haltingly and often gasping for any breath at all.
Johnston and Livesy present this dystopian future through English accents and breathless dialogue with clarity and a charming fatalism.
The second play is The Judge’s Wife. It is a far more political piece concerning a conservative judge’s harsh sentencing of a dissident. Set around the time of the Anonymous movement, it uses a sledgehammer rather than subtlety to deliver its message.
Despite this, the cast is so good they manage to overcome the plot to make it an appealing production. Jacinta Ryan in the eponymous role is outstanding, ably supported by Mark Jeffery, Christine Scott, Lucy Gounaris, Marguerite Wesselinoff and Zach Byrne. The final play is the absurdist comedy, Heart’s Desire.
A married couple and the wife’s sister wait for the return of their daughter from Australia. It is Godot-