It’s been a strange time for teachers and their students. Nevertheless even with remote learning and online interaction as the only option to ‘see’ our students the unique dynamic between a Drama department and their students continues regardless.
I logged in to begin my teaching week and saw this review written by my sixth form student, Nathan, written off his own back with such passion and enthusiasm and this started my July with a real boost. No matter what happens and what situations the world throws at us we have to remember the power our subject gives, the relationships that we build and the sheer love for our subject becomes infectious to all those around us.
Enjoy this review from The Skinners’ Kent Academy, sixth form student and National Youth Theatre member, Nathan Friend.
Holly Barradell, Head of Expressive Arts Faculty
Old Vic: in Camera – LUNGS by Duncan Macmillan
Since Lungs was originally performed on the Old Vic stage in London back in October 2019, times have changed significantly, hence why I’m watching this performance from the comfort of my sofa at home, about 45 miles from where Claire Foy and Matt Smith are performing, as opposed to about 4.5 metres away from them. With Foy and Smith, a skeleton crew of camera technicians and support staff are working to stream the performance over Zoom, all while being socially distanced, including the performance blocking itself. And honestly, the team have done a superb job as far as the viewing experience goes. You join the performance from a link emailed to you, and you initially see an introduction video, welcoming you to the stream, with the occasional 30-, 15- and 5-minute call to the start of the performance. Astonishingly, it manages to somewhat resemble the theatre experience, with some additional benefits, such as being able to eat noisy snacks without the fear of glares from fellow theatregoers. That being said, some parts of the experience cannot be replicated, and I do miss them. The pre-show murmur of fellow patrons waiting for the show to start, the interval ice-cream and, perhaps weirdly, the show programme.
I’ll stop myself there, as I am not here to wholly review the method of watching the content, but also the content itself. As I mentioned before, Lungs has been performed before, on the same stage, with the same director and the same set. But the key differences here are adjusted blocking to maintain the 2-metre rule, and no lighting, making the show more of a scratch performance, similar to what Death of a Salesman did in the midst of the Piccadilly Theatre roof collapse. Nonetheless, despite the pared-back setting, Foy and Smith bring powerful performances to the stage (or should that be screen?). The show depicts a young couple debating the decision whether to have a child in the context of climate change and the environment and the script by Duncan Macmillan, putting across facts and figures through powerful conversations and arguments, is thought-provoking. Both Smith’s and Foy’s characters (they’re unnamed, but I’ll refer to them as M and W) are deeply flawed in how they overthink their choices, and this is put across excellently. W is ethically troubled by the thought of giving birth to the “weight of the Eiffel Tower”, openly showing her anxiety while somehow remaining slightly neurotic, while M is more laidback, making futile attempts to relate to his partner. Both characters are portrayed well, and despite us seeing the couple each confined to their own box on the screen, I still felt a connection between the two of them, which is impressive and must be attributed to Matthew Warchus’ direction.
Overall, a two-hander about a young couple having a crisis over their relationship may not sound like a good choice for a streamed, socially-distanced production, but in practice, it makes for an eye-opening view into how the theatre industry can survive, while treating those watching with a wonderful. detailed and nuanced show from Smith and Foy. It gives me hope for the future and shows that there is an opportunity for theatre to maintain a presence until audiences can return to the auditoriums, and we can once again hear the murmur of our fellow patrons.
Credit: Nathan Friend