Wall Talks
The
Tobacco Warehouse, Stanley Dock, Liverpool
June 5 – June 30
Author:
Andrew Sherlock
Director: Jen Heyes
Producer: Cut To The Chase
Cast includes: Brian Dodd, Jane Hogarth, Nick Birkinshaw, Ebony Feare,
Victor Power, Clementine Clemendore.
Running time: 1 hrs 40 mins
 |
Covering one hundred and fifty years of identity building, Wall Talks is a cross-the-arts promenaded piece examining what it is that has made Liverpool the place it is today. Industrialisation, Slavery, Shipbuilding, The Mersey beat generation and the riots of the early eighties are all covered until at last we come to today’s rejuvenation.
Though sadly in a state of some neglect, setting the play in a warehouse is a stroke of production genius that certainly adds to the atmosphere, as the voices of the actors, haunting music and the banging of doors reverberate through the old building to great effect. Even the weather plays its part as night draws in, turning the building into a character of its own, with the elements added to by some evocative video imagery and imaginative uses of lighting.
The performances are intoxicating. Jane Hogarth in the roles of Carolina Cotton Queen, Irish Famine widow and women’s wartime dock leader, is exemplary in each part, with a singing voice reminiscent of Kirsty McColl. Victor Power and the dancing of Clementine Clemendore, who at one point uses a pool of water to great effect, are all dynamic in their varying roles, as too is Nick Birkinshaw, who’s sombre countenance fits so well. Yet it is Brian Dodd and Ebony Feare who wring most from their parts and weave the thread of the story across the generations in a way made to look easy by a tight script that rarely disappoints.
Wall Talks is without doubt a work in
progress and will undoubtedly tighten and become yet more enthralling,
yet is still a captivating piece of theatre that should be enjoyed and
experienced by all who go to see it even at this early stage of its
development. With a vast tapestry of events from which to choose, Andrew
Sherlock has selected some the most provocative and, with the aid of
Jen Heyes, has brought about a show that is rich, thought provoking
and deeply enriching.
8/10
If so - please feel free to leave your FEEDBACK
break the rules as I see fit.” - Chris High 2003.