York Theatre Royal – 19th and 20th March and National Tour
Reviewed by Sara Garner
4****
David Judge’s 1st production as a playwright inspired by autobiographical events and exploration of his own upbringing.
Meet Dave. Dave spends his time driving around Manchester in his beloved Capri in the early 1980’s picking up his younger sister and falling for her friend Joanne. He wants a new start after doing the stereotypical lad things and getting into lots of fights. Joanne is about to have someone else’s baby. Is Dave ready to become a Dad even though he’s not the father? SparkPlug is the story of a white man who becomes the adoptive father, mother and best friend of a mixed-race child, David.
SparkPlug is an intense, expressive and physical monologue that examines what family meant in today’s society in the early 1980’s. Its tangible and evocative with its soundtrack throughout. You get raw emotion from the actor. David Judge holds and enthrals the audience for 70 minutes, you become totally immersed in his experiences and empathise with the highs and lows of this period in his life.
He explores prejudice and the affect that this has within his own family and society’s reaction to the fact that he as a white man married to a white woman that is raising a mixed-race son. Does this affect his ability to be a good Dad? We see the trials and tribulations that he faces during the first 8 years of Dave’s upbringing.
Overall the narrative was easy to follow, with set staging. At one stage we weren’t sure if we were watching a flashback and this upset the otherwise natural flow of the monologue. Like many single actor plays’ its emotional and exhausting to watch. The audience left reflecting on their own experiences, prejudices and multi-cultural society in which we live in.