Actually (depending on who you listen to) either 21 or 22 tiny plays, and not all plays at that, but some pieces of prose and poetry as well.
20 Tiny Plays is designed to showcase Sheffield, and for the most part, it was successful, with enough detail to keep the locals happy but accessible enough for non-natives.
I myself was born in Sheffield, moved away at a young age, and have been since 2002, when I started University here, and my wife is a southerner, who moved here for university in 2003, and sees herself as a local but not a native, so between us so we have a little of both perspectives.
The first and final plays nicely bookended the evening, with the opening being quite powerful, a chant of Sheffield's five rivers; "
Riv-er Don,
Loxley,
Port-er Brook,
Sheaf!
Riv-e-lin, Por-ter Brook, Loxley! Don! Sheaf!" The rhythmic chanting giving a sense of some of the power and drama to come, and the finale, in which a non-
Sheffielder visited to see the iconic
cooling towers of
Blackburn Meadows power station being demolished, which brought a light tear to my eye (yes, I have an odd affection for the the long-gone twin 250ft hunks of concrete).
In between times, there were a few sections here that seemed mere filler. I don't think, for example, that we needed five minutes of the cast shouting previous headlines from the Sheffield Star, and we certainly didn't need a reprise of this after the interval. There were other sections which were seemingly just to fill time, including some moments of dance. Amateur actors these people may be, but dancers they certainly were not.
There were some real stand-outs in the middle, however. Chief in my mind as far as comedy in concerned was "Blow Blow", the final play before the interval, about
Dempsey's, Sheffield's (in)famous gay bar/club night. The thumping music and witty dialogue made this section quite memorable, although I can't say I ever saw the men in flashing bunny ears!
A mini musical about Snooker, whose
World Championships are held at the
Crucible Theatre in the same building as the
Studio Theatre (indeed, the Studio is used as the Players' practice room) ran with underlying themes of feminism. It opened with the protagonist finishing a ticket for the snooker, before falling in love with the sport, and then staying out all hours and incurring the worry of her parents, before finally admitting her obsession to her mum, finding that she too, had had a love for the sport in the past, but gave up playing as her husband didn't appreciate being beaten by a woman!
This method of staging a social element which could have been set anywhere inside a situation based within Sheffield continued, as groups of rival football supporters, United and Wednesday, clashed chanting their respective songs, before rounding on a banker burning money and again as groups of speeding motorists met for a "re-education" session, and discussed immigration, and Sheffield's "
City of Sanctuary" status.
The most poignant, "Dear Danny" was in the form of letters and emails send to Danny, author of
www.whokilledmymum.com. This website was set up to find the killer of Patricia Grainger, killed in 1997, when he was still very young, and gained widespread attention in Sheffield. The website now has over 1.6 million hits, but now sadly lies dormant, the author presumably having given up any hope of the perpetrator of this horrific crime ever being brought to justice. The mini-play dealt with the matter sensitively, and was one of the more humbling moments of the evening.
All in all, an enjoyable evening out, with just a few minor niggles. I think that had they made 15 Tiny Plays about Sheffield, and cut 20 minutes off, the whole experience would have benefited. The main criticisms I have seen levelled at the play (especially in the
Observer) is that there is little flow to the production, but this was always supposed to be a compendium, and need to be treated as one would a compilation album, rather than a concept album. The individual tracks showcased the Sheffield of old as well as the up-and-coming, From football and steel to art and Clegg, all get a mention here. references to current events, closed shops in the centre, austerity and bankers' bonuses bring the play right up to the minute. Well worth a watch.
Writers: Chris Bush, Helen Eastman, Tim Etchells, Sally Goldsmith, Pete Goodland, Russell Hepplewhite, Richard Hurford, Marcia Layne, Tom Lodge, Andrew McMillan, D C Moore, Kaite O'Reilly, Laurence Peacock, Michael Stewart, Stephanie Street, Andrew Thompson, Chris Thorpe, Louise Wallwein
Performers: Tanya Addy, Billy Ashcroft, Jonny Aubrey-Bentley, Jalleh Bahraini, Jessica Barber, Thomas Barker, Sue Beardon, Ellen Bowes, Elliot Brown, David Burchhardt, Sue Burgess, Michaela Caine, Jean Cherry, Samuel Child-Cavill, Joseph Clarkson, Lily Coates, Ned Cooper, Dominic Corfield, Archana Dait, Jennifer Derbyshire, Chidora Ekebuisi, Annie Etchell, Shelby Foster, Becky Frankham, Carmen Franklin, Imogen Gledhill, Paris Guest, Billy Hinchliff, Emily Hurst, Adele Hodson, Keith Khabo, Sean Longmore, Mariah Louca, Clare McManus, Ryan Meehan, Alison Mitchell, James Morley, Leo Peace, Stephen Peace, Satu Pihlstrom, Matthew Plant, Andrew Raftery, David Ridley, Janice Sampson, Estella Smith, Alex Smith, Samuel Smithson, Kate Spivey, Leonora Stavrianakos, Rosa Strong, Anya Sweetland, Jonathan Syer, Robert Turner, Christian Vernon, Bryn Walker, George Webster, Aileen Westoby, Scott Westoby, Jason Wild, Kyle Williams
Musical direction (and performance): Moony Wainwright
In between times, there were a few sections here that seemed mere filler. I don't think, for example, that we needed five minutes of the cast shouting previous headlines from the Sheffield Star, and we certainly didn't need a reprise of this after the interval. There were other sections which were seemingly just to fill time, including some moments of dance. Amateur actors these people may be, but dancers they certainly were not.
- one of my top tracks of last year, with a superb funk bass. A track you dance to at the first listen, but listen to after the first dance. A brilliantly poetic and powerful track
Event: Oneness ...Peace, Love & Unity
The night began with Ben Webster, a singer-songwiter on acoustic guitar. Whilst he got a good reception from the assembled crowd, I felt he suffered somewhat from the early start time. He ran through a blend of his own songs and some crowd-pleasing covers as well. Adept on both guitar and harmonica, his folksy-blues/rock sound was the perfect way to start a St. Patrick's Day off.
Chronicles of Graham came to the stage and filled it - literally as well as figuratively. The round of applause they received just for their soundcheck was something to behold, before they finally launched into first track and all-round crowd pleaser "Spit". They then rattled through what seemed like a greatest hits collection including "CoG TV Cribs", a funny take-off on MTV's Cribs, "Pick Up Little Teddy", and a bouncy rock/rap song featuring the wonderful Little of lead vocals and "Body in a Binbag", with Coxy's usual fantastic work on guitar generating whoops and admiring looks from the audience as well as the next band due on stage, Smiling Ivy. "Gimmie da Fing" got everyone moving and swaying and bouncing, whilst "Here Come the" generated the usual skanking up in front of stage by an audience which was now swelling rapidly. Just as last time at the Redhouse, The Graham finished off with a wonderful cover of "Lodi Dodi" by Snoop Doggy Dogg (AKA "La Di Da Di"), Little Teddy on lead vocals and Coxstardelux taking the ample cover by A Taste of Honey. As last time, this was a brilliant finale to a great set.
Smiling Ivy were their usual amazing selves. By the end of Chronicles of Graham, the floor was packed with people ready to watch Smiling Ivy. I won't pretend to be well-versed on the tracks played by the band, but every one was a crowd pleaser, danceable, loud and fun, just as one would expect from them. The drummer was, as usual, a failing mass of hair and arms, every inch look like 'Animal' from The Muppets. The frontman owned the stage, whilst the band as a whole were tight, and clearly having fun, joking around with each other between songs. These are certainly a band to enjoy, and one I plan to watch again on April 6th at Penelopes - come join me please!
The Washington itself, is one of my favourite Sheffield pubs. Abbeydale Moonshine is always on tap, and there was a lovely couple of malt whiskeys on the night as well. The atmosphere is always warm, with friendly bar staff, and ample outside smoking area, and an interesting series of graffiti in the men's room.
UPDATE - THURSDAY 23rd FEBRUARY
