Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Abigail McKenzie, Mike Sanders, Mark Holland, Charlotte Melville, Allan Nicol, Hayley Thompson, Caitlin Mary Carley Clough, Oliver John Lawrensen, Jessica Olwyn, Sam Walton.
With 2018 marking the centenary of voting rights for women and signalling the advent of the #metoo movement, the timing of Make It Write Productions’ Virago – four one-act plays focussing on formidable females – is savvy to say the least, as is executive producer Sharon Colpman’s diverse selection of scripts.
First up is Tomb by Ian Gray, the story of Cait (Abigail McKenzie), a young woman who returns to the crumbling church-run home where she’d given birth to an illegitimate son, demanding the truth about his fate from the remaining residents, Father Jerome (Mark Holland) and his weak sidekick Francis (Mike Sanders). Mr. Sanders is exceptional, entirely inhabiting the skin of the neurotic hermit haunted by the past and Ms. McKenzie’s skilled portrayal of the fragile but fearless mother is fascinating to watch. Mr. Holland’s cameo as the sinister, quietly spoken priest is a memorable gem and Leah Bush’s direction slow-builds the tension of Ian Gray’s eloquent and, at times, darkly comic script perfectly.
Great Escape by David Haworth followed – a tragic-comic piece set in a hospice, where three individuals appropriate movie classic The Great Escape to navigate the tumultuous, exhausting seas of their diagnoses. There’s deft direction from Sam Buist and Paula Lee (rapid scene changes and principal characters morphing into secondary ones all achieved seamlessly) and the talented actors – Charlotte Melville (Emily), Allan Nicol (Reg) and Hayley Thompson (Jen) – work wonderfully together; generating much laughter and, come the closing scenes, lumps to throats and a lament that lingers in the audience’s mind long after.
Post-interval comes the unnerving Killing Children by Patrick Maguire. Under the direction Andy Kerr, this psycho-drama has a real televisual feel and narrates a love-hate triangle between a mother, her son (who killed his own child) and the woman who once loved him. The enigmatic Caitlin Mary Carley Clough plays Jackie, the mother whose loyalties are torn in tatters, with a hushed, captivating intensity and a highly convincing Liverpudlian accent (despite being a non-native) and it’s hard to take your eyes of Jessica Olywn who, in distinct contrast to some of her previous roles, convincingly transforms into hard-edged retribution-seeker Danny. It’s hard to believe that this is Oliver John Lawrensen’s stage debut as Ben; it takes serious acting chops to elicit audience sympathy for a child killer.
The evening closes with Kitty: Queen of the Washhouse – a truly outstanding piece of theatre. Beautifully written by John Maguire (with an obvious passion for his subject matter), it takes the audience on a journey through the life and times of Catherine Wilkinson -the Irish-born washhouse pioneer and champion of the pool of life’s poor. Margaret Connell’s distinct and intelligent direction is faultless. And then there’s Sam Walton, who is an absolute revelation as Kitty. Her delivery of this one-woman monologue is remarkable and, in turns, switches from sorrowful to hysterically funny. Few performers could pull this off with such confidence and star quality.
Kitty’s final lines – noting that hers is still the only female statue in St. George’s Hall – provide a fitting end to an inspiring evening overflowing with local talent.
Lisa Symonds