Review for Strangeness of Others

http://thegoodreview.co.uk/2015/03/the-strangeness-of-others-lipa-the-black-e-liverpool/

The Strangeness of Others is a play originally written by Nick Ward, directed on this occasion by Gari Jones and produced by LIPA as part of their 2015 Spring/Summer Season of Public Performances.

In The Strangeness of Others we are given a glimpse into the secret heart of London via a series of loosely connected story arcs. As the narrative develops however, these individual strands are rapidly interwoven to form a larger, much more overpowering tableau which incorporates a range of classes, genders, ages, and personalities, to convey the notion of a connected generation who have somehow simply lost touch with one another.

The technical aspects of the show were executed beautifully. Music accompanied most scenes, effectively setting (and occasionally usefully contradicting) the mood, and amplifying on-stage presences. Last week I was fortunate enough to catch LIPA’s performance of Hay Fever, and I commented then on the incredible attention to detail in the costuming and set-design. Whilst The Strangeness doesn’t necessarily demand that level of meticulousness in order to be successfully performed, the designers didn’t hold back and their efforts were not wasted; despite the unwieldy narrative there was no cluttering on-stage, and the costuming was a valuable contribution to the balancing of the overall aesthetic.

If there’s anything that tonight’s performance really proved, however, it’s that the venue in which the play was performed (the Black-E in Liverpool city centre) was pretty much made for a piece like The Strangeness of Others. The Black-E is a renovated church and as such there are multiple tiers of balconies which loom over the performance space. The Strangeness was directed almost flawlessly, and a huge part of that successful staging was in the stacking of the actors. There were many poignant moments made extremely poignant by the juxtaposition of locations; a kindly beggar walked on the uppermost tier whilst a wealthy and well-publicised politician skulked beneath, imploring his disgusted son not to divulge his shady secrets.

The play talked about the notion of ‘love’ as a painful thing but what we actually saw was that love was the only hopeful thing left in an era of violence, isolation, and political uncertainty. Although the subject matter was undeniably bleak it worked beautifully in tandem with an incredibly vibrant performance from the entire cast, who had quite clearly put their hearts and souls into the piece. It showed. Being that I knew very little about The Strangeness before I arrived at the Black-E, I’m not sure what exactly I was expecting to witness; but I do know that I was absolutely floored by what I received. What a beautiful, amazing bit of theatre. Well done LIPA.