In My Name

In My Name

Writer: Steven Hevey

Director: Julia Stubbs

Trafalgar Studios 2

Yaller Skunk Theatre

1st July – 19th July, 2008

Thursday 3rd July, 2008

Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for the British Theatre Guide

Take a significant and topical subject matter and present it in a light hearted fashion in order to highlight how society is under estimating the issues that surround us today. This can work, however down play it too much and by the time you actually attack the bone of contention you may find that you have already lost your audience and missed the point entirely.

This is exactly what In My Name attempts to do with its portrayal of the backlash against the violence that is threatening our society at the moment.

Egg (Kevin Watt) is a very confused young man trying to escape from a past that is already one step ahead of him. It all comes to ahead on the day of the London bombings, July 7th, when Egg takes his frustrations out on an oblivious Grim (James Alexandrou) whose couch he has been sleeping on for the last week and Grim’s co-worker, Royal (Ray Panthaki). He projects his own demons onto those around him and issues blame on innocent people for the crimes of a minority.

As one of the Paines Plough writers which has recently produced outstanding work such as House of Agnes I expected something a little more sophisticated from Steven Hevey. The journey from mundane flat life to prison cell torture fails as one’s interest disappears before the supposedly climactic conclusion.

The overly dim witted, layabout, Grim and the gobby, jumping off the walls (from all the coke he’s done – in case we didn’t get it) Royal, transform into two panic stricken men with snot running down their faces. However this comes so late in the play that it is difficult to make the adjustment from sitcom comedy to action thriller.

The play is not exactly bad, but there is nothing impressive about it either. It sort of bumbles along in a Men Behaving Badly kind of way, but its attempt to be provocative and hard hitting is where it unravels. In My Name makes an interesting point in questioning “who am I?” “Who are you?” Although the not exactly subtle comparison between a game of Guess Who and society could have been given a miss.

Whilst the characters are for the most part two dimensional, the fault lays as much with the script as it does the actors. The dialogue lacks any real depth and jumps all over the place in its desperation to cover its subject matter in an innovative manner; forgetting that this is in fact an interesting subject and does not need to be clever to prove this.

Of course it is important to raise awareness and make us think twice about switching over to Friends when the news is on, but don’t underestimate your audience when doing so.

The House of Agnes

The House of Agnes

Written by Levi David Addai

Directed by George Perrin

Oval House Theatre

Theatre Company: Paines Plough

4th March 2008 – 29th March

Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for The British Theatre Guide

Friday 8th March 2008


In a play which is so rich with dialogue it seems somewhat ironic that I find myself at a loss for words in describing The House of Agnes. Brilliant simply does not seem to suffice, but for fear of gushing I shall try to elaborate.

Paines Plough kick off their 2008 season at Oval House with House of Agnes; a humorous and poignant exploration of family ties. After forty years of working and raising her two sons Caleb and Solomon in London, Agnes has decided to return to her home in Ghana. Before she leaves she wants to be certain that her two sons will live in harmony together; however her eldest son, Solomon, is living with a girlfriend who Agnes detests and Caleb is determined to turn his mother’s house into a bachelor’s pad. This forces the family to address the question: who will live in the house of Agnes?

George Perrin’s House of Agnes has its doors wide open, welcoming everyone in as the audience are virtually scattered amongst the living room set. Not your typical theatre going crowd, the audience felt completely at home and relaxed as their audible enjoyment was expressed through loud bouts of laughter and thigh slapping, as well as commenting amongst themselves and nodding in recognition at the characters behaviour.

Not a particularly complex plot, House of Agnes is- as the best things often are- kept fairly simple. It is the rich detail in between that gives Levi David Addai’s script such zest and energy. The dialogue has a dynamic rhythm to it as it unites the Ghanaian dialect of Agnes with the urban speech of her two sons, which Caleb litteres with impressive vocabulary in an attempt to prove his intelligence. There is nothing funnier than a script that doesn’t try to be funny. You’ll find no gags here but the hilarity emerges through the superbly observed dialogue and of course through the delivery.

Addai’s characters are brought to life on stage by an impressive cast. Cecilia Noble’s Agnes is both well meaning and overbearing, only wanting the best for her sons and smothering them in the process. A formidable presence on stage Noble is difficult, loveable, frustrating, everything that a mother should be.

Ludvig Bonin as Solomon and Anwar Lynch as Caleb, both united by understanding and separated by sibling rivalry, are faultless. Their bond on stage is natural and unaffected and their comic timing is impeccable.

It is so wonderful when all the elements come together in a production: script, direction, performance, set, lighting and sound. The House of Agnes perfectly illustrates this. This is a play that will strike a chord with anyone who… well anyone who has a family.