Looking for Claire
Production: Looking for Claire
Venue: Drama Barn
Rating: ***
As the first wholly student-written play in the Barn this term, ‘Looking for Claire’ displayed some real moments of excellent scripting – but on the whole, was carried by an understated and sometimes lifeless cast. The plot centred around an old man’s struggle to let go of his wife, who disappeared more that 22 years before the play is set. Despite the slow pacing and the lack of emotional variation from most of the 7-strong company, there were some lovely moments – most notably Stuart Hall’s charming singing voice which was highlighted by director and writer Sarah Goddard’s thoughtful and poignant songs. The supporting cast also injected some energy into this somewhat trite piece, with both Josh Littlewood and James Quelch providing comic relief – and Ellen Stevens giving the somewhat clichéd character of the devoted daughter, Joanna a realism and humour which the character would otherwise have lacked. In addition, the haunting lighting and sound design by Littlewood added an eerie feel to the piece, befitting its central theme of loss and the loss of memory.
Whilst this play had some touching moments, for the most part it was rather lifeless – it appeared that some of the cast were simply ‘going through the motions’ and had no real character motivation. In some parts, the somewhat hackneyed script was to blame for this – in others, it was the unwillingness of the cast to fully commit to their characters and to infuse them with the energy and originality which Goddard’s script would have benefited from. Although this remains true, it was still fantastic to see that the spirit of student-written drama lives on in the Barn – proving that we, as students, really can create moments onstage which have the same emotional impact as that of any famous playwright. Only less consistently…
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