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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
Seed
Verdict: Ghosts, shame, addiction and deceit
Seed is inspired by a plaque dedicated to a young woman who died whilst returning from India in a 1835 on the wall of Holy Trinity Church in Tunbridge Wells.
It’s a dark little tale that gradually reveals a well-to-do family’s troubled past and present (writes Rachael Booth). These stem from a young woman’s journey to India in the 19th Century - and the legacy she left behind.
It’s littered with ghosts, shame, addiction and deceit.
The play is set in a modern-day Tunbridge Wells house steeped in cloying lies and claustrophobia. Andrea (Charlotte Pyke) is a mouse trapped in an eternal cycle of fear and miscommunication with her taciturn bulling, overbearing grandfather (William Maxwell). He retreats to the attic to smoke opium, and commune with the ghost of his great grandmother - who begs him to reveal the secret that over generations has torn the family apart.
Andrea is afraid of the future. Grandfather is scared of the past. They lead separate, insular lives that lead them to escape through the nearest bottle – many of which are stashed around the house.
It is only when near-tragedy arrives that problems are resolved - and colour and honesty seep back into the family home.
William Maxwell’s grandfather alternates between revealing nothing to Andrea, and everything to Francis. He evokes a man so ashamed of his past that he has lied throughout his life. He uses the character’s wog-Paki-darky 1800s racist attitudes to create both a Victorian-esque grandfather and a lounging cheroot-sucking Zsar.
Charlotte Pyke passes chameleon-like between the two characters of Andrea and Francis. Her Andrea shuffles round the dark dining room desperately trying to please her grandfather. Her ghost of Francis is outspoken, flamboyant - and rather whining. A little too whining – a visit from the exorcist feels overdue.
Littered with ticking clocks, abominable silences and sparse dialogue, Seed perfectly slips and flips through generations of the family. It reveals clearly how the British raped and fucked-over India.
But it recognises that these attitudes - along G&T-soaked ex-patriots lounging on verandas – are (on the whole) dead. It also highlights the sheer triviality of imperialist attitudes in comparison to multicultural contemporary Britain.
***
Cast Credits: (alpha order): Charlotte Pyke - Woman, Andrea, Francis. William Maxwell - Man, Edmund. Voices (alpha order): Ann Firbank - Voice of Margaret. Dominic Geraghty - Voice of Lawyer. Tim Woodward - Voice of Edward.
Company Credits: Director - Nicolette Kay. Playwright - Souad Faress. Designer - Jane Linz Roberts. Sound Design - Scott Myers. Lighting - Chris Martin. Stage Manager - Marina Hadji Panayi. Producer - Muzikansky. Play Commission and Tour Supported By Arts Council England. Not suitable for young people under 15 years old. Finborough Theatre: Artistic Director - Neil McPherson.
END
(c) Rachael Booth 2004
reviewed Tuesday 9 November 04 / Finborough Theatre
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
