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Monday 31 January 2011
Sunday 30 January 2011
The Boy James, Southwark Playhouse
The Boy James – Southwark Playhouse
Belt Up Theatre have a remarkable ability to transport an audience, seemingly into their own minds. From the moment you enter their cosy den you become part of the creative process of their world. Audience interaction, so often an intimidating prospect, is approached by Belt Up with fragile and disarming charm.
Inspired by the life of J. M. Barrie, The Boy James is something of a meditation on the themes of innocence and experience, beautifully embodied in the eyes of the two actors representing him: as The Boy, Jethro Compton’s are shiny, bright and heart-breakingly expectant, James Wilkes’ as James are distant and pained, as if they have been crying for days.
Here are the makings of something truly heart-wrenching and magical, as other Belt Up productions have been, but in this case the material is somewhat lacking (the first clue is that the interactive games at the start go on for far too long, especially for a show totalling 60 minutes). The dialogue is repetitive, at times bland and at others insincere. Although the ideas and performances begin to stir up strong emotions they remain
frustratingly intangible.
For fans of Belt Up The Boy James could be a disappointment, for others the experience may well prove fresh enough to be positively worthwhile, if not entirely satisfying.
by Rae Doherty
Belt Up Theatre have a remarkable ability to transport an audience, seemingly into their own minds. From the moment you enter their cosy den you become part of the creative process of their world. Audience interaction, so often an intimidating prospect, is approached by Belt Up with fragile and disarming charm.
Inspired by the life of J. M. Barrie, The Boy James is something of a meditation on the themes of innocence and experience, beautifully embodied in the eyes of the two actors representing him: as The Boy, Jethro Compton’s are shiny, bright and heart-breakingly expectant, James Wilkes’ as James are distant and pained, as if they have been crying for days.
Here are the makings of something truly heart-wrenching and magical, as other Belt Up productions have been, but in this case the material is somewhat lacking (the first clue is that the interactive games at the start go on for far too long, especially for a show totalling 60 minutes). The dialogue is repetitive, at times bland and at others insincere. Although the ideas and performances begin to stir up strong emotions they remain
frustratingly intangible.
For fans of Belt Up The Boy James could be a disappointment, for others the experience may well prove fresh enough to be positively worthwhile, if not entirely satisfying.
by Rae Doherty
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