Post by joem on Apr 4, 2018 0:38:51 GMT
Directed by Anna Ledwich, this is Amy Ng's second play - her first was the promising Shangri-La staged at the Finborough in 2016 - and there are definite signs of progression in her work. Whereas at times with Shangri-La it felt as if she were playing on safe ground Ng has widened her horizons but not lost the sharpness of her writing.
Ng writes good dialogue. This may sound like a sine qua non but if you can't write good dialogue - and Pinter's silences are so good because of the quality of his dialogue - then maybe playwriting is not your thing.
Acceptance is an interesting and relevant play which questions belonging, entitlement and the search for the self - and how these overlap. Angela, played by the excellent Jennifer Leong, (last seen by me delivering mayhem as the eponymous heroine of Kiki's Delivery Servce) is a musical prodigy from Hong Kong trying to get into an exclusive Ivy League university but a trauma in her life casts a dark shadow over her and doubts on her suitability as a candidate. Is her Asianness a help or a hindrance? That proves a problematic question too. Meanwhile Birch Coffin (Teresa Banham) the ascerbic, but essentially fair, acting dean for admissions and her new team (Ben and Mercy, played by Bo Poraj and Debbie Korley) directed at improving diversity spar around the issues of experience versus idealism and as their characters clash it seems Angela might be their battleground.
Revelations ensue and everything and everyone is not what they seem. Currently 1 hour 20 minutes long, this could be developed a little further into a full-length play, just a thought.
I feared this might descend into political cliche with the early exchanges, especially the Mercy character, but the play is subtler than it first seems and ends up being an interesting exposition of ideas and makes one think about fairness and about the many issues that feed into how we handle unfairness.
Incidentally this is apparently the last season for productions at the Hampstead Theatre Downstairs due to cuts in funding. May I suggest they sack their entire box-office team and replace them with people who look and sound as though they want to sell tickets rather than blame mysterious internet glitches and talk over you when you are trying to explain the problems you face every time you try and buy a ticket at their theatre? They may find they need less funding.
Ng writes good dialogue. This may sound like a sine qua non but if you can't write good dialogue - and Pinter's silences are so good because of the quality of his dialogue - then maybe playwriting is not your thing.
Acceptance is an interesting and relevant play which questions belonging, entitlement and the search for the self - and how these overlap. Angela, played by the excellent Jennifer Leong, (last seen by me delivering mayhem as the eponymous heroine of Kiki's Delivery Servce) is a musical prodigy from Hong Kong trying to get into an exclusive Ivy League university but a trauma in her life casts a dark shadow over her and doubts on her suitability as a candidate. Is her Asianness a help or a hindrance? That proves a problematic question too. Meanwhile Birch Coffin (Teresa Banham) the ascerbic, but essentially fair, acting dean for admissions and her new team (Ben and Mercy, played by Bo Poraj and Debbie Korley) directed at improving diversity spar around the issues of experience versus idealism and as their characters clash it seems Angela might be their battleground.
Revelations ensue and everything and everyone is not what they seem. Currently 1 hour 20 minutes long, this could be developed a little further into a full-length play, just a thought.
I feared this might descend into political cliche with the early exchanges, especially the Mercy character, but the play is subtler than it first seems and ends up being an interesting exposition of ideas and makes one think about fairness and about the many issues that feed into how we handle unfairness.
Incidentally this is apparently the last season for productions at the Hampstead Theatre Downstairs due to cuts in funding. May I suggest they sack their entire box-office team and replace them with people who look and sound as though they want to sell tickets rather than blame mysterious internet glitches and talk over you when you are trying to explain the problems you face every time you try and buy a ticket at their theatre? They may find they need less funding.
