I'm back on stage after a years absence and my goodness it's been good.
I've appearing in Absurd Person Singular by Alan Aykbourn at The Curve ( probably the most beautiful theatre in the UK at the moment)
I'd never appreciated what a clever, taut, dark and brilliant piece of work it is.The sign of a good play is one that ages with you. And this production pulls no punches.Set in the early 70's with the prescience of Thatcher's Britain looming over, it has all the hilarity of a farce, banging doors and misunderstandings, laced with an acidic bitterness that would make League Of Gentleman wince.
My character, Eva, prompted by her husbands constant infidelities, spends the majority of the play attempting to commit suicide. All her efforts at jumping from a window, hanging from a light flex, electrocution and overdose all go hysterically wrong, being misinterpreted by her husband and grim house guests in various ways. Suicide notes get crumpled, written over or used to silence the dog.
I could only play it for harrowing truth and still it gets huge laughs every night. Now THAT's a good play.
Here's a photo and a few choice reviews.
The slow and silent antics of Tracy-Ann Oberman as the suicidal Eva are utterly compelling to watch. Every small grimace or minor movement speaks volumes.... The Stage
Tracy-Ann Oberman gives a stellar performance here as Eva, saying hardly anything as she hilariously tries a number of ways to end it all while the others simply don't take in what she's trying to do. With a number of looks full of expression, she's frustratingly thwarted again and again before leading everyone in a wild rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas...
Though top performances are given by all, special mention must go to the three ladies of the cast. Leigh MacDonald as nervous but house proud Jane Hopcroft, Louise Plowright as a Margot-esque Marion Brewster-Wright and Tracy-Ann Oberman as bohemian suicidal Eva Jackson draw you in and make you care for them. The scene taking place in the kitchen of the Jackson’s in particular is mesmerising. I only clocked half way through that Oberman hadn’t yet said word but she held my attention throughout and was very much part of the action-her facial expressions conveyed every emotion clearer than any words could. My only desire was to see more of the development of the individual stories of the ladies, but then again that’s the beautiful/frustrating aspect of Ayckbourn-you’re allowed to answer the question of what happened for yourself.
Tracy-Ann Oberman’s Eva gets the biggest laughs while literally not saying a word, a masterclass in facial expression (and no woman could fail to be impressed by her speedy transformation of appearance between the second and third act), while Jason Thorpe’s Geoffrey is so self-absorbed one wonders why she doesn’t kill him instead.
