Thom Pain
The Forge at The Court Theatre, Christchurch
26/07/2007 - 18/08/2007
Christchurch Arts Festival 2007
Production Details
by: Will Eno
directed by: Tony McCaffrey
One man, one evening – one conversation you’ll never forget.
Thom Pain (based on nothing) is a wry monologue that isn’t really based on nothing. It just doesn’t overtly advertise its source of inspiration and it is positively packed with content. And if you’re not always exactly sure what that content is, well, that’s part of the fun.
And there’s a lot of fun to be had in this surreal send-up of the conceptless concept. When Thom’s seemingly random, brilliant, disconnected ramblings finally come together near the end of the 70-minute show, it proves a refreshing moment of quiet beauty.
Thom’s coming to terms with his personal loss of love and the fragility of life in general puts the pieces of his puzzle together. He finally seems like a complete man, rather than just an anonymous figure that had it all, lost it all, and then eventually lost it altogether.
Will Eno makes every word count in an exquisitely crafted script with all the energy of the finest stand-up comedy.
Thom Pain (based on nothing) played to critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival, where it received the coveted Fringe First Award and the Herald Angel Award and was cited by The Guardian as the best play at The Fringe.
And there’s a lot of fun to be had in this surreal send-up of the conceptless concept. When Thom’s seemingly random, brilliant, disconnected ramblings finally come together near the end of the 70-minute show, it proves a refreshing moment of quiet beauty.
Thom’s coming to terms with his personal loss of love and the fragility of life in general puts the pieces of his puzzle together. He finally seems like a complete man, rather than just an anonymous figure that had it all, lost it all, and then eventually lost it altogether.
Will Eno makes every word count in an exquisitely crafted script with all the energy of the finest stand-up comedy.
Thom Pain (based on nothing) played to critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival, where it received the coveted Fringe First Award and the Herald Angel Award and was cited by The Guardian as the best play at The Fringe.
featuring: Stephen Papps
set design: Julian Southgate
costume design: Annie Graham
lighting & sound: Joshua Major
Theatre , Solo ,
Curious theatre
Review by Lindsay Clark 27th Jul 2007
There are a multitude of questions raised by this production, most of them starting with ‘Why?’ Or to adopt the unrelenting ambivalence of the playwright, ‘Why not?’ From go to whoa – or woe (this parlance is catching ) – we are teased by a play that manages to be trivial and profound at one time. Perhaps. As in life, nothing is certain.
As the man responsible, Stephen Papps achieves the ‘minor miracle’ cited from the New York Times just by staying abreast of its fragmented material as he layers humour and philosophising, shreds of narrative and description with deadpan agility. For every proposition or switch of direction, there is a contradiction, a deflating jab of Pain .The story of his childhood tragedy, just an everyday one you understand, his love and his present are not so much told as pixelated, ‘talked about’. Anchored to the spot for most of the hour, the lanky, angular figure simply talks. Simplicity is at once disarming and frustrating. As in life. As in Godot territory.
He is right about at least one thing. The audience is indeed kindly and positive. The laughter may be a trifle nervous – there are big questions at stake, like what to do with fear, ‘When did childhood end?’ and what can be done about living – but it is constant, even when the joke is on the audience, led to believe or anticipate and then disillusioned. Curious theatre, where we are working as hard as the actor to keep up with the possibilities and images so paradoxically set up and rejected.
Director Tony McCaffrey has a purposeful take on all this. His programme notes staunchly sum up the piece as "a play about nothing, which we believe is saying something". It has earned coveted awards at the Edinburgh Fringe and critical acclaim in the London season. As festival fare for Christchurch its reception will depend on the extent to which patrons are prepared to forego theatrical devices, a ‘real’ plot and characters we associate with a good night out. For those not afraid to face down cynicism and bluntness, its fresh take on this ‘dead horse of a life we beat’ should provide much more than sixty minutes’ worth of debate.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
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