I Hope it's Not Raining in London, PACT

I Hope it's Not Raining in London, PACT

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Posted 2019-06-27 by Lydia C. Leefollow
"Two people, trapped in a room. One is almost finished but the other is not yet ready. The other will be ready, but just not yet." and so opens the haunting production of I Hope it's Not Raining in London that is showing at the PACT theatre in Erskineville, Sydney until the 29th July.

The audience starts with the same level of understanding as one of the characters, but as events unfold, we quickly piece together what is going on, and what it means for the characters. A little more is revealed each time an item appears, bringing with it stress or happiness or something else entirely.

The space the characters find themselves in is physically small and that brings with it a claustrophobia that one needs to make peace with. For the audience, at times, that feeling envelopes us in the tension too.

For all traumatic events that we witness, I felt quite delighted at the end, having watched a complicated yet visually pleasing puzzle be solved. The play is funny and poignant and I couldn't help wondering what would be in my boxes?

I Hope it's Not Raining in London premiered in July last year and has returned to tour some major cities and regional areas. It is produced by Bearfoot Theatre, a youth managed not for profit organisation, giving voice to young artists.



Directed by Riley McLean, one of the intriguing aspects of this work is that the cast rotates roles. Every actor plays every role in different combinations over the course of the run, which would bring a very different experience for the audience if they were to watch it again. If I had my time over, I would go to both the matinee and the Saturday night shows to see the changes in performance which different actors bring to the stage.

The night I went Nicholas Thoroughgood & Cassie Hamilton were the leads, with Daniel Cottier and Zoe Walker in the supporting roles. There's some imaginative stagecraft happening off stage with the creation of sound effects, where mundane household items take on a sinister role and something as routine as the noise of a kettle makes you uncomfortable when the water begins to boil.

Nicholas Thoroughgood also wrote the play and it harks back to the Theatre of the Absurd movement of the 1950s, which could also explain the chosen music of the characters. It's an impressive debut play for a very young and clearly talented writer.



Please note this play contains strong language, adult themes, violence and suicidal references. It does have some very confronting moments. Suitable for ages 14 and up."A play full of heart. And blood. So much blood." – Vanessa Bates (Playwright)



#erskineville
#inner_west
#theatre
#june
%wnsydney
138118 - 2023-06-13 14:20:47

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