Originally published by L.S. Media. September 14th 2011.
Cast: Oliver Reynolds, Mike Idris, Amy Stokes.
The Unity is one of those rare examples of a theatre that is prepared to take chances and offer a wide range of productions that can be fresh, exciting and mind blowing to sit through, the enjoyment is there regardless and even in a play that doesn’t quite hit the mark, the theatre should be congratulated for putting it on and letting audiences decide for themselves.
The Daily Times offered so much with its premise of life within a newspaper office, the underhand way that some journalists will use information they receive and twist them to suit their point of view and the sensationalist approach to people’s privacy but unfortunately the production didn’t reach the achievable heights that it set itself.
The writing of Mathew Kirton cannot be faulted apart from that with hindsight, the play could have been longer and the treatment of the two main protagonists drawn further and given an extra half hour, the two characters of Payne and Eager, played by Oliver Reynolds and Mike Idris could have been seen in the same mould as those of the brothers in Pinter’s production of The Caretaker. There could have been more of the friction between the two seasoned professionals and the new girl played by Amy Stokes, with each one playing off the characters’ good nature and honesty.
The special effects were absolutely superb and it added just the right element of dark humour into the proceedings as the audience were on tender hooks as they awaited each characters’ final blow. Mike Idris especially showed why he is highly rated as an actor as he awaited the moment of decision perfectly, like a man who knows the guillotine or axe is about to fall, he carries on as if the blow might not come but ever mindful of what’s out there.
Given time and a little reworking this play could be a really big hit for the writer but as ever huge applause for the Unity Theatre for giving the team the time to showcase the play.
3 stars
Ian D. Hall