WoLab presents..
The Bunker Theatre, London. 16 Sep - 17 Sep 2018
I feel a lot of synergy with WoLab and their philosophy of championing new and emerging talent especially as it’s one not so far removed from our own, so it was with excited anticipation that I found myself at another of their impressive showcase evenings, this time the result of a partnership with Theatre N16, offering a twelve week intensive course aimed at actors and writers to help develop their existing playwriting and acting skills in addition to giving them a platform from which they can showcase their talents to an invited audience of agents, casting directors, programmers, producers, supportive friends, family… and luckily, Jack The Lad.
As is unfortunately the way with such evenings, it’s impossible to namecheck all of the monologues and duologues being performed here, there being no less than fifteen pieces on the night with just as many people taking up the directing and performing duties throughout the evening. Don’t be fooled into thinking that this is the theatrical equivalent of channel surfing though. Admittedly there is a certain amount of comfort to be had in the knowledge that if a certain piece doesn’t particularly resonate, it will only take another ten minutes before you will find yourself transported somewhere completely different. However, on this occasion there was no denying the abundance of imagination, originality and talent that exists within this young group of new theatre professionals. It is also reassuring to know that through the likes of companies like WoLab they are being given an opportunity to be seen in initiatives like this that result in a diverse and ultimately rewarding evening of theatre.
With a relatively short amount of time available for each piece to make it’s mark, the audience is thrust into the heart of each performance so quickly that they can probably almost feel the wind rushing through their hair. It can at times be a brutal transition, to be mercilessly thrown from one character to the next, not knowing whether what follows will be a comedy or a tragedy, but It is a sensory whiplash I am more than prepared to endure on a night where exposition is often left at the door, and performance is king.
The evening starts strongly with a superb example of sharp dialogue combined with some impressive comic timing in How To Kill A Wasp written and performed by Charles Entsie and Louis Rembges. The duologues continue to be the more memorable moments throughout the evening, Out On A School Night, written/performed by Holly Rose Hawgood and Sonny Poon Tip, presents us with a couples petty (but highly enjoyable) squabbles that are suddenly forgotten when news of a devastating event arrives. The Procurement Department written/performed by Olu Adaeze and Chloe Wade is an unsettling but darkly mesmerising piece, and Surgeons written/performed by Thanh Le Dang and Tom Powell ends the evening with a gently surreal, light comic touch.
That's not to say that there aren't a couple of equally memorable monologues, an early comedic treat being May I Take Your Order written and performed by Chloe Wade in a hilariously played comic piece that offers an uncompromising insight into a waitress’s inner most thoughts as she takes her customers order. (A meal in a restaurant will never be quite the same again). Rita Waits is also a strong, bitter sweet monologue written/performed by Thanh Le Dang about a Chinese woman looking for love.”I don’t want to be the last chair’ she declares to an audience who’s undivided attention she has justifiably already commanded with her performance.
Her ten minutes are soon up however, and we are off once again, transported into the middle of a completely new scenario. Whilst we may yearn to have been able to spend a bit more time in the presence of many of the characters on display here, 'leave them wanting more' is very much the default setting for these showcase evenings, and it’s a reminder of how rewarding they can be, hopefully as much for the talent on stage as it is for the audience.
★★★★
