Amy’s View is not political, but is very wide-ranging. It looks at the merits of theatre versus cinema, and the effects of big business on the everyday investor.
Conflict
Dominic, played by Martin Leigh, is an aspiring cinema director. At the beginning of the play he’s the boyfriend of Amy, played by Caroline Whitfield. The conflict comes because Amy’s mum Esme, played by Shirley Lyons, is an actress. She instinctively feels that Dominic is wrong for her daughter, and this we increasingly see as the play develops.
The conflict dynamic between Esme and Dominic is one of the central themes - the theatre is dead and the younger generation don’t get it. We get to hear plenty of David Hare in the conflict between them. I love this kind of theatre if it’s not overdone. I find it challenging to take on theories through characters, and work out where I stand, and hear new arguments. Because David Hare is such a skilled playwright, this very rarely jars. In fact, he even manages to pull off the very difficult play-within-a-play concept.
The last act does draw a definite conclusion about some of the more extreme types of films such as Trainspotting and Pulp Fiction, but once again does not feel heavy-handed.
Slick & Crisp
I really enjoyed this production by the Gallery Players. The beginning was slick, with the cast walking on to music, and a crisp start with the actors first words and actions.
It’s set in the lounge of a house in the suburbs in south London. The nature of the subject demands that it should feel slightly claustrophobic, but the set has been well designed, and the actors make good use of the stage space.
All the cast were authentic in their roles, and seemed to be inside their characters. The play spans a number of years, and in the second half, the director Pat Taplin, successfully matches them to the advance of time.
My only criticism of the production is pace, and level of intensity. The dialogue was a little bit too ricochet-like at times, detracting from the enjoyable complexity of the dialogue. Also when the characters argue, the pitch was raised to loud voices a little too often. For some of the lines, quiet anger would have been more effective.
But that really is only a small negative. The cast achieved a real flow to the production, and when shifts in character were required they achieved them with ease.
Go along to this if you enjoy thoughtful theatre with witty lines and something to mull on afterwards. This is a quality production by one of our leading playwrights, and well worth two and a half hours of your time.
Cast
Dominic Tyghe - played by Martin Leigh
Amy Thomas - Caroline Whitefield
Evelyn Thomas - Brenda Caddick
Esme Allen - Shirley Lyons
Frank Oddie - Dick Glover
Toby Cole - Mark Hayward
It's running at the Sir John Mills Theatre, Gatacre Road, Ipswich from Tuesday 14th - Saturday 18th March. Box office 01473 211498. For full details, visit the Eastern Angles website using the link on the right >>>
