Theatre Hawke's Bay lifts spirits with its double act, 'There Are Stories to be Told'

A scene from "Recompense". Photo / Ken Morrison

REVIEW:
What: There Are Stories to be Told.
Where: Theatre HB.
When: March 10-19, 7.30pm.
Tickets: iTicket.co.nz.

Reviewed by Keith Russell

Starting the new theatre year, Theatre HB has lifted our spirits out of the pandemic, with a good old-fashioned double feature, from our own literary talent.

Written and directed by Hastings identity Verona Nicholson, "There Are Stories to be Told"
is two one-act plays, both adult-themed and dealing with vastly different subjects.

One-act plays can be traced to the origins of theatre, but are now more commonly associated with festivals and fringe theatre, simple, but deceptively difficult to write and perform.

The first story is "Recompense", layered with family dynamics, drama, and a touch of romance.

The story is set in Oregon.

Playing the part of Sarah is Rosemma Strombom. Strombom is blessed with a natural accent that was clear and projected well into the theatre. More importantly she connected with the audience with her character's personality. Her job was to engage with the audience and she did it well.

Michael Sharp is George, her cousin. His character required some serious projection and he was successful in achieving this. It was hard not to have sympathy for his back story and current pain.

Jonathan Jordan, as Jordan, gave a professional performance. Given the limitations of the script it was hard to know whether he was a saviour or comic relief.

I felt this script left unanswered the serious topics and meandered with the trivial, but I am sure Nicholson would have been pleased by her actor's total commitment to her theme.

The second story, "Husbands and Other Lovers" was true to the title, was more of a monologue than a play, but it did give Claire Rochester full freedom to show she can perform.

From the moment she entered from behind the audience, the stage was hers. Facial expressions, clarity of projection, controlled movement ... this was a lesson for younger performers to aspire to.

Her costume was as outrageous as her stories, nicely helped along with small material props. It was hard not to shout out after her short, sharp performance: "Are you sure there are not any more?"

Lighting and sound was well controlled by Steven Sparks, with a meaningful set by Stu Foggin, with a mention to Jessica Aguilar in the often-overlooked role of graphic designer.

One great benefit of a double feature is there will always be a story you like and while it is the audience that must decide, I definitely lent towards the second.

Salacious stories have a danger of becoming boring, but Rochester's performance saved the day on that one.

Both Theatre HB and Nicholson are to be congratulated for taking a risk that will pay dividends in the future. In fact, Nicholson is presenting another of her plays in Hawke's Bay next year and I will follow that with a great deal of interest.