Blank Sheet Productions is a brand new theatre company set up by an aspiring LAMDA graduate and his partner. Tired of trawling the agencies for news of interesting productions, actor Robert Stocks and marketing consultant Jane Quinn decided to grab the future by the throat and jump the elongated queue with their own Production set-up. Quinn is even chronicling her quest for Stocks’ fame by writing the pertinently titled weblog, Being Sharon Osbourne. On the evidence of Blank Sheet’s premier production, Laundry & Bourbon and Lone Star, Quinn’s mission may well be as successful as the Princess of Darkness’.
Written by James McLure, a Louisiana born playwright who also wrote the screenplays for Hollywood movies Reckless, Kingfish and Quick, Laundry & Bourbon and Lone Star is presented as a double-bill.
The performance of Laundry & Bourbon feels rather edgy and the inexperience of the two lead actresses is plain. The Southern accents have the tendency to slip, which is a distraction, and the direction is not as determined as the play warrants. The show is stolen by Kaitlyn Riordan, who starred in Twelfth Promise at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe and shortly joins the Lost Youth Theatre Company for their production of Macbeth. Riordan breezes onto the stage for her (unfortunately brief) performance, with an air of purpose, authenticity and excellent comic-timing that is sadly lacking in her co-stars. McLure’s script is strong and there are laughs to be had, but in reality Laundry & Bourbon merely serves as a useful background for the main event.
Lone Star is a cracking play from beginning to end. It features three men from Maynard, Texas – all connected, by marriage, to the three women we met in Laundry & Bourbon. The difference in direction is so sharp and welcome you immediately wonder why Liam Jarvis, the co-founder of Theatre Trash Ltd, did not demand the task of directing both segments of the play.
Thankfully, there are no fundamental gripes about convincing accents and confident presence within this play. The two principles, Ryan Wilson and Robert Stocks, are a joy to watch. Although hilarious, Stocks’ portrayal of simple brother Ray is tragic and touching (reminiscent of George Clooney’s sidekicks in the wonderful O Brother Where Art Thou), while Wilson’s big brother Ray bullies and bulldozes his way around the stage with such physical conviction the audience are left flinching. McLure’s razor dialogue flows between the two men as naturally as the Bud they quaff slips down their throats. The belly laughs of the audience are natural too, as the brothers confront each other on subjects as diverse as Vietnam, adultery, Twinky bars and a legendary passion wagon.
As Jarvis himself points out, recent events in Iraq make the ultimately sad story of Lone Star as relevant today as it was upon its conception in the post-Vietnam era 1970’s. The claustrophobia of small-town life suffocates the audience as it slowly chokes the characters and the hugely impressive performance of the cast of three (completed admirably by Aaron Woodman) certainly left a tear in my eye – I wasn’t sure if it was left by laughter or sadness, but Lone Star was so well-executed I didn’t preoccupy myself with working out which.
After a hugely successful preview at Covent Garden’s Club for Acts and Actors, Laundry & Bourbon and Lone Star moves to The Space in Docklands between December 4th – 6th. There is no doubt that this play contains more than one future star and if you’re in the habit of enjoying the old “I saw them before they made it big” line, be sure to be there.
Johanna Payton.
johanna_payton@hotmail.com
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For tickets and information visit:
http://www.geocities.com/blanksheet_productions/
http://www.20six.co.uk/jq
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