Enthusiastic performances of off-the-wall stories
There was a lot to live up to with “Fourplay,” at the Three Minute Theatre: the title suggested adult themes, and I was expecting gritty performances from up-and-coming actors at one of Manchester’s best fringe theatre venues.
The show included four short plays (written, directed and produced by Phil Pearson and Paul Thompson) that opened with “Melted,” an odd piece about an unhappy man shopping at a budget supermarket, which wasn’t the best opener for an evening that promised stories about “love, disaster, life and redemption”. The performances by the actors (Tracy Grabbitas and Phil Lunt) unfortunately fell a little flat as well, and the over-stylised language jarred with the subject matter. Next came “Four Decembers Ago,” a depressing tale of a man (Paul Dunning) who talks to the lost women of his life (Alanna Ní Mhíocháin) as he roots through a rubbish bin, contemplating how he ended up in the gutter with the bottle. There was no real drama here, though, and the script was mainly clunky exposition and heavy, clichéd confessionals.
The highlight of the evening came with the third piece, “Swapped,” and this was clearly the short play that the whole evening had been built around. Two women (Tracy Gabbitas and Sophie Lund) who are not-so-happily married take drugs and decide to sleep with each other’s husbands (Phil Lunt) after a civilised dinner party. There were some cringe-worthy moments (“We need to make sure they think it’s us… how do you do foreplay?” one asks), but there were some real laugh-out-loud moments as well, and the performances by the actors were polished and enthusiastic. The dynamic between the two women worked really well and the piece was very entertaining. The evening was brought to a close with, “To You, the Son I Never Had,” another depressing tale of a pathetic man (Paul Dunning) who steals his baby away from his sisters-in-law’s care (Alanna Ní Mhíocháin), before revelations are discussed. I say ‘discussed’ here because, again, the dialogue mainly served as exposition, and once the big reveal was made, it called into question how the characters were being motivated beforehand. Like the first two pieces, this felt like an experiment, or an idea that just wasn’t as well thought out as it could have been. The actors did their best with the script and gave polished, committed performances, but these were characters we didn’t care about, and I was glad when this one ended.
The Three Minute Theatre was a great venue as always, and the quality of the production was very good, with great sound, lighting, and sets that were well thought-out and smoothly adjusted between the scenes. It’s a shame that some of the pieces weren’t as well thought out as the production—I was left thinking that the main event, the third piece “Swapped” would have been better developed into a longer, standalone piece. The other short plays serve as examples for the pitfalls of fringe theatre when writer becomes director and producer and the quality control disappears.
Reviewer: Ben Spencer
Reviewed: 14th April 2016
