Rating
OK
An imaginative however messy present that might do with reining in just a few of its wilder instincts.
Directed and written by Dominic Hedges and with unique music by The Weaver Line, this present asks many questions: what would be the full extent of the ecological harm we really feel quick coming down the road; will the scars on our landscapes be as deep because the scars on our collective psyches and can there be any hope of eventual restoration?
Worthy questions, however in a short time misplaced in extremely convoluted and ineffective narrative layers that target summary character vignettes and take care of matters as disparate as baby experimentation, amnesia, grief and even music. It’s a scattershot method that fails to hit a lot, if any, of its goal and suggests an unrestrained devising of the present’s story, badly in want of a stronger directorial cross to get its varied components working in concord. As it’s, issues hardly ever coalesce round any coherent level and the twist ending specifically is kind of unsatisfying.
The performances, nevertheless, are noteworthy. While the grownup actors (Grace Over and Samantha Nixon) play their components properly, the youthful ones lend a uncooked high quality to theirs with combined outcomes. Rufus Harwood and Anton Wild spark splendidly as The Actor and The Artist respectively, whereas Sadie O’Sullivan as The Sister might do with pacing her supply because it’s typically tough to make out her phrases within the excited method they’re given. Finally, whereas Elanor Bilbrough as The Singer is often picket in her efficiency, the dwell vocals she delivers over the present’s soundtrack are pleasant.
Less combined are the multi-media appendages tacked onto the story. Often, video is projected onto a display set to the again of the stage, displaying off something from drone footage of flooded roads, archival music performances or at one stage (fairly inadvisedly) a crude jumpscare. None of those help the story-telling in any clear manner and solely serve to make proceedings really feel jumbled and jarring. The present can be a lot better off both ditching these parts solely or discovering stronger justification for his or her inclusion.
Ultimately every little thing feels as if it’s been thrown on the wall right here, and little or no sticks. There’s high quality to unearth deep down, however vital additional refinement is required to carry it to bear.
Directed and Written by Dominic Hedges
Original Music by The Weaver Line
Assistant Direction by Sally Horowitz
Lighting Design/Operation by Venus Raven
Will You Love Me Tomorrow has accomplished its run on the Omnibus Theatre