CORRESPONDENCE, a piece of new writing which premiers at The Old Red Lion, strives to be a political work, tackling issues such as the Arab Spring and mental health, however Lucinda Burnett’s play seems more like a badly written episode of TV's Hollyoaks.2011, Kate and Wills are about to be married. Syria is on the verge of a revolution. Sixteen year old Ben (Joe Attewel) spends most of his time playing Xbox and learning Arabic from a fellow gamer Jibreel (Ali Ariaie). Curious about the political situation Ben begins to interview his Syrian friend, but as things get more and more complicated in Damascus so does Ben’s perception of the revolution.
The beautifully underplayed opening scene, in which Burnett’s writing explores the similarities between the two boys, suggests that the play will concentrate on the tragedy of Ben and Jibreel. Unfortunately this is the only moment in the production that possesses any substance.
As the piece progresses, more superfluous, boring characters are introduced, like Ben’s parents, who belong in a trashy soap opera. Ben’s bully, Harriet (Jill McAusland) is overplayed and just a stereotypical bitch.
Director Blythe Stewart could have stopped the production from being such a fiasco if she'd spent less time on the bad jokes and more on staging things imaginatively and drawing better performances from the cast. None of the actors, including the lead, Joe Attewel, who is too mature for his role, seem capable of bringing the script to realistic life.
The set, designed by Bethany Wells, is the strongest aspects of the production. Resembling a virtual gaming world it emphasises a disconnection between Joe and real life. However Stewart doesn’t make good use of the set, regularly placing her actors with their backs to the audience
Although there's potential in CORRESPONDENCE, bad writing, awful acting, outdated humour and inept directing result in the piece being one of the worst I've ever seen. I am really confused as to why the artistic director of The Old Red Lion, whose programming is usually spot on decided to take on this production.
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is one of the best-loved and well-known musicals of the last fifty years. At the recent performance I attended I could hear audience members singing lyrics softly under their breath and anticipating the many classic laugh lines. Revived more times in New York City than any other musical this makes it a particular challenge for the production team of each revival to find a fresh take on the show. When it was announced that Bartlett Sher, director of the revelatory Lincoln Centre SOUTH PACIFIC revival, was helming a new production I was very excited. Well, Sher and his team have not disappointed.