Bunker Theatre – 6th -17th June. Reviewed By Jessica Brady
Approaching the Bunker Theatre was a little sombre in light of Saturday night’s terror attacks, walking through London Bridge and Borough the streets were busy but the effects of what happened were still evident. I want to applaud Pharmacy Theatre from the start for carrying on in such a brilliant fashion despite having to cancel a preview and less time to set build, the results were still outstanding, thank you.
The Enchanted is based on the novel of the same name written by Rene Denfield and has been cleverly adapted by Joanna and Connie Treves into a contemporary masterpiece. The plot is about death row in America and how men sit isolated in prison awaiting execution. The story focuses around Arden [played by Corey Montague-Sholay] who also serves as the narrator figure of the piece, and his time in ‘the dungeon’ and his poetic thoughts on life inside. Arden talks about another inmate on death row, York [Played by Hunter Bishop]. ‘The Lady’ [played by Jade Ogugua] who is tirelessly trying to save York from execution by investigating his past and trying to connect with him, but it is very difficult to save someone who doesn’t want to be saved. Arden is on stage the whole time as a constant reminder that time for him stands still even though the world outside carries on. This play gets up close and personal with what it means to be evil and if redemption is something that can save you.
The cast are incredible and each actor gives a gritty and honest performance to a difficult subject matter. The post modern feel meant that physical theatre, puppetry and ensemble work were also required from this group to produce this truly haunting play and again were performed to a brilliant standard.
I found each character portrayed had something interesting about it that made it very easy to be invested in them and I went on a journey that allowed me to be sucked into the dark world that was on stage. It’s very difficult to single out a particular performer but I must give a special mention to Liam Harkins and Georgina Morton who had several roles in the piece and performed them with great command and superb control which was very impressive, I couldn’t take my eyes off them.
The staging was simple, plain white with a mobile white plank that stretched across the stage and moved throughout. There is a light that comes down from a box above with a huge tree branch crawling out of it where the inmates would often be boxed into. The use of blue chalk drawing on the floor and walls was very effective in demonstrating settings, timelines and moods of the different scenes and was quite poignant in some scenes. The score composed by David McFarlane for this play is haunting and plays an integral part to this piece and compliments the action perfectly. The costume was very simple with plain greys and whites but to be honest the set and costume are not what you should go to see this play for, it’s the story, the characters and some incredibly powerful performances. Go and see The Enchanted to really be transported into a world you didn’t know existed.