LOVE IS A STREET FIGHT
Basement Theatre Studio, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland
14/02/2012 - 18/02/2012
Production Details
I’m Not Content Productions presents an evening of short theatre; six original short plays inspired by the idea that ‘Love is a Street Fight’, written by, directed by, and featuring local emerging talent. A mixed bag of comedy, romance, and drama.
(Warning: Mature Themes and Violence)
Featuring:
1. ‘A NUMBER SACRIFICIED, A NAME SAVED’
Written by: Sophie Fletcher, Directed by and Featuring: Ashton Brown, Tom Kane
2. ‘TWO BLIND MEN’
Written by: Laurence Dolan, Directed by: Benjamin Teh, Featuring: Jeremy Rodmell, David Rumney
3. ‘ALL MY DREAMS ARE NIGHTMARES’
Written and Directed by: Ashton Brown, Featuring: Kat Glass, Tom Kane
4. ‘SOLITAIRE’
Written by: Shane Garnett, Directed by: Natalie Braid, Featuring: Daniel Cresswell, Timothy Whale
5. ‘WHAT WE BUILT’
Written and Directed by: Kat Glass, Featuring: Rachael Longshaw-Park, Jonathan Riley
6. ‘ALL MY CLIENTS ARE LONELY’
Written by: Ashton Brown, Directed by: Tom Kane, Featuring: Kat Glass, Ashton Brown
‘Young emerging talent create their own opportunities’
Young actors and recent graduates Ashton Brown and Kat Glass are two of a growing number of young actors who are taking a more proactive role inAuckland’s theatre scene, by writing, directing, and producing their own works.
The pair were tired of waiting for opportunities to come to them and wanted to utilise the burgeoning talent of other emerging artists around them. So they created a theatre company and called it ‘I’m Not Content Productions’. The idea was to give talented young professionals like themselves the opportunity to create original theatre, develop their skills, and perform in a professional environment. They also wanted to actively contribute to the further development of a successful theatre-going community in their hometown.
For their first show the pair have scouted a talented team of emerging playwrights and challenged them each to write a short play inspired by the idea that ‘Love is a Street Fight’, using only one location and two characters. The result is six vastly different scripts, ranging from the humorous to the dramatic, presented together in an evening of short theatre atThe BasementStudio. The writers, directors, and actors behind each of the six pieces represent a cross-section of the promising young talent emerging inAucklandtoday.
The team consists of graduates of Unitec and the University of Auckland; an Auckland Theatre Company Writers Unit playwright; winning writers and directors of International Short Film Competitions; the Assistant Director of Auckland Theatre Company’s recent production of ‘The Wasteland’; Hackman award winning actors; and a huge team of promising performers who have appeared in everything from ‘Shortland Street’, to TVCs and German versions of Hamlet.
Ashton and Kat hope to build a network of talented artists and with them continue to create fresh and challenging works that will bring a unique flavour to the growingAucklandtheatre community. Plans are already in place for the company to produce a full-length devised show in the second half of 2012.
In the meantime, theatre goers can see
‘Love is a Street Fight‘
and the wealth of promising talent it offers at
The Basement Studio
from February 14th to 18th.
Bookings at www.iticket.co.nz or ph (09) 361 1000.
WHAT: I’m Not Content Productions presents ‘Love is a Street Fight’ – an evening of short theatre by emerging playwrights and talent
WHERE: The Basement, STUDIO
WHEN: Tuesday 14th, Wednesday 15th, Thursday 16th, Friday 17th, and Saturday 18th February, 2012
SHOW STARTS: 8pm
RUNNING TIME: 120 mins approx. plus a 20 minute intermission.
BOOKINGS: www.iticket.co.nz or ph (09) 361 1000
Producers: Kat Glass, Ashton Brown (I’m Not Content Productions)
Playwrights: Laurence Dolan, Sophie Fletcher, Shane Garnett, Ashton Brown, Kat Glass
Directors: Benjamin Teh, Natalie Braid, Tom Kane, Kat Glass, Ashton Brown
Stage Manager: Amber Molloy
Actors: Jeremy Rodmell, David Rumney, Daniel Cresswell, Timothy Whale, Rachael Longshaw-Park, Jonathan Riley, Tom Kane, Ashton Brown, Kat Glass
Unique views into love that was, until it wasn’t
Review by Melisa Martin 15th Feb 2012
Perfectly timed for Valentine’s Week, in the almost living-room sized Studio at The Basement, I was treated to a selection of short plays and 12 intimate performances based on the theme, and aptly titled Love Is A Street Fight.
A Number Sacrificed, A Name Saved by playwright Sophie Fletcher, is the first of six shorts, in which a merciful moment is shared between a Jewish prisoner of war (Ashton Brown) and a Nazi officer (Tom Kane).
The performances are honest, though Brown’s portrayal of prisoner Isaac is severe for the first piece of the night. I am by no means a prude, but at times it felt like the writer threw in cussing for the sake of cussing, and not because it added to the play’s intensity.
Two Blind Men by Laurence Dolan is a charmingly and intentionally ambiguous piece between two men discussing their fates and the women they’ve left behind. Jeremy Rodmell and David Rumney play the parts with charismatic composure which endeared them to the audience as we decided their fates for ourselves.
Changing the tone, Ashton Brown’s All My Dreams Are Nightmares features a couple in their final moments of a mutually abusive relationship. Simon (Tom Kane) used to hit Chelsea (Kat Glass) who can’t accept that he’s changed. The performances are concentrated, however subject matter is covered that perhaps needs longer to brew than the time frame allowed.
After intermission a lone writer (Daniel Cresswell) sits at his desk, surrounded by rubbish, and discarded ideas in Solitaire by Shane Garnett. Two lovely performances of the writer who has lost love, with no faith in finding it again; and his friend (Timothy Whale) who seems not to care while his comrade slowly loses his marbles.
If you’re a person who might consider leaving during intermission, don’t do it. In the second-to-last play, sitting atop a pillar, a phone rings. What We Built written and directed by Kat Glass, depicts a man, a woman and the shelf-life of their relationship. Wonderfully vague, Jonathan Riley and Rachael Longshaw-Park play the stand-out performances of the evening. They share a chemistry that is honest and neither contrived nor overplayed. In retrospect, I would have liked for this to be the final piece of the evening.
Last but not least is All My Clients Are Lonely written by and featuring Ashton Brown as a lonely banker, with Kat Glass; a stripper with only money on her mind. Glass’s stripper is tame at best, and any sexiness is lost under somewhat over-witty dialogue and an uncomfortable creepiness portrayed by Brown.
While the heat upstairs is at times distracting, indicating that air-con should probably be looked into, I’d recommend Love Is A Street Fight to any fan of intimate theatre. The performances as an entirety are thoroughly enjoyable, and provide unique views into love that was, until it wasn’t.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
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