The Desert Queen - Arts Centre Washington - Review

The Desert Queen

Arts Centre Washington
26th July 2018

Hands On NE present this new play by David Farn - The Desert Queen: the Adventurous Life of Northern Hero Gertrude Bell
Directed by Neil Armstrong

Gertrude Bell is a name I have heard, without really knowing much about her beyond a vague awareness that she was a female adventurer. I have to admit I am somewhat ashamed that I did not know more about this amazing woman. Certainly I did not know that she was a local hero, nor the extent of her achievements - not just as a bold adventurer but as a political and social reformer.
David Farn's play is an enlightening, informative and entertaining piece of theatre.
Phillippa Wilson plays Gertrude Bell in what is essentially a monologue punctuated by interjections from the various male characters (and a French stepmother) who have an impact on her life. These characters are played by Brian Lonsdale. Phillippa Wilson creates a character who is bold and forthright, honest and sympathetic, with great compassion and humour. Brian Lonsdale bring equal amounts of humour to the play in the cameo roles he plays. He portrays her companions, her father, brother and stepmother and her lovers - he moves from one character to another with a flourish of head gear, or the straightening of his back, or the flick of a hand...each one presented with humour and each one clearly important to, and beloved of Gertrude Bell.
The audience is addressed throughout so that we feel we are part of the play - Gertrude recounts her life story to us - invites to share in the stories, and this makes it feel very personal. We do feel that we know Gertrude Bell by the end of the play.

There is an enormous amount of information given in this play. David Farn has given us the best history lesson, taught by someone with a love of the subject and we come away with so much knowledge without realising we were learning anything at all.

The Desert Queen is on tour until 6th August in various venues across the region and everyone should see it. Tickets are available online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/hands-on-ne-cic or from the venues.

Denise Sparrowhawk

Tour dates and Venues
27th-28th July - Lit and Phil, Newcastle
30th July Winter Gardens, Sunderland
31st July Little Theatre, Cleadon
2nd Aug Fulwell Community Library
3rd-4th Aug The Exchange, N Shields
5th Aug City Theatre, Durham
6th Aug Customs house, S Shields

Hands On NE are crowdfunding to support the development of the tour. Click the link  to give your support The Desert Queen .

Preview - Hot Flush - Washington Theatre Group

 Naughtiest musical in town comes to Washington!

Take a deep breath and get ready to meet Myra, Sylvia, Helen and Jessica, a quartet of feisty menopausal women who get together at a local bar every Tuesday night. Affectionately named the ‘Hot Flush Club’ the ladies offer each other moral support, cry on each other’s shoulders and most importantly (of course), gossip and malign the many men in their lives! (Fifteen in fact, all played by one brave man!)

"HOT FLUSH!" takes us on an hilarious musical journey that follows the ups and downs of the friendship between four ordinary women. It delves into their laughter, tears, and secrets. When it comes to matters of the heart, the opposite sex, and the menopause, Myra, Sylvia, Helen and Jessica will leave no stone unturned, and no story untold. 

'HOT FLUSH!', has the music, the menopause and the men (well, the one man). The naughtiest musical in town really is the ultimate girl’s night out! There won’t be a dry eye in the house, because you'll be crying with laughter.

Performed by Washington Theatre Group, 28^th – 30^th June at Arts Centre Washington

Tickets are £10 (Group discount: £8 a ticket for groups of 5+) Book online or telephone Arts Centre Washington on 0191 561 3455. 

Ten Times Two:The Eternal Courtship - Arts Centre Washington - Review

Ten Times Two

Arts Centre Washington
Fri 28th July


Written by Davis Belke
Presented by Washington Theatre Group
Produced by Angela Marshall
Directed by Danny Stones

This play has a strange but interesting premise; an immortal being - Ephraim (John Seymour) - lives only to wreak havoc in the human world, manipulating mankind into wars and conflicts. Ephraim has unexpectedly, and against the plan of the immortals, fallen in love.

He is observed (and manipulated himself in turn) by the other immortals. It is never made clear who or what these beings are, nor what their purpose is. All we know of them is what we can glean from The Host (Sarah Seymour), who orchestrates the events throughout the play. When asked at one point if he is a guardian angel, The Host replies "the very opposite". Perhaps these creatures are the Devil's angels? It is never made clear, only that they are omnipotent, and omnipresent, and malign.

The Host is curious as to how and why this Barmaid, Constance (Catriona Brannigan-Uren) should have affected Ephraim. He denies any attachment either on his side or hers, and so as 'an experiment' they enter into a wager: Ephraim must elicit a genuine declaration of love from Constance when he returns in the spring.

The Host is a dispassionate observer who reports back to unseen "bosses". He introduces Ephraim and sets the seen, apparently addressing the audience though it eventually becomes clear that it is not us, but the other immortal beings that he is conversing with. The audience hear only The Hosts comments, we do not hear their questions or comments in response to The Host. It is clear that there is some kind of plan in process, but none but these unseen immortals know what this is. The Host has some knowledge, but not all, he merely follows instruction. Ephraim himself is clearly unaware that he has been manipulated for centuries, perhaps he was once human, but over the many decades of his life the humanity has been stripped from him until he is reduced to the cold hearted creature who's only pleasure is in the creation of chaos and destruction.

The play pans spans six centuries, and has just three cast members. Ironically Constance is reborn each Century as a different person while the immortal Host and Ephraim remain constant throughout. Catriona Brannigan-Uran metamorphoses into each new character like a chameleon changing colour, from bubbly barmaid to pious nun to flirtatious flapper. She is a stark contrast to the androgynous, dispassionate Host played by Sarah Seymour. Casting a female in the role of The Host certainly adds something to this sinistrous character. She is a disturbing, but not entirely unsympathetic character. John Seymour comes into his own in the final scenes where his humanity has overtaken him. He is much more convincing as the immortal Being racked by human emotions than the cold-hearted Ephraim of the first scenes.

This is a play about fate, predestination, the nature of humanity, and deity, good and evil, and the potential to change one's nature, and one's destiny. This is illustrated by the symbolic chess set which sits on the table throughout the play. Occasionally The Host moves a piece, and at one point the table is knocked and several pieces are scattered. Billed as a romantic comedy, there is humour in it, but it is mostly overshadowed by the sinister nature of the otherworldly immortals and the sense that we are not masters of our own destiny. It is a strange mix of the historical and modern and it has an almost science fiction feel to it.

Ten Times Two is an interesting, thought-provoking and at times bemusing play (I am not convinced by the romantic comedy tag). This was my first time at a Washington Theatre Group production, I am impressed by the standard of acting, the slick sound and lighting and the friendly welcome. I will be back to see more by them.

Denise Sparrowhawk