Half Moon Man
Production: Half Moon Man
Venue: Drama Barn
Rating: 3 1/2
The Half-Moon Man, written and directed by Max Tyler, is an entertaining and thought provoking example of student theatre. Although Drama Barn productions are often impressive and always uniquely presented, the use of presentation techniques and unusual lighting made this production especially poignant for the audience.
The Half-Moon Man is about dreams, reality and the contrast between the two. Although the concept is interesting and appears initially accessible for the audience (everyone dreams), the complexities of the script and the constant existentialism of the play could have easily been lost on the audience. However, the introductory monologue is so sinister and unusual that we are initially interested in the complexities of the subject matter. Indeed, this actor’s excellent use of eye contact only amplified the effect of the speech.
The gradual deterioration of Lawrence and Sophie’s relationship was well-acted and effective. The placement and use of the bed as central in their relationship exhibits an excellent knowledge of prop use, even though Sophie’s dialogue and past experiences could have been slightly more developed. In her “nightmare” scene, the lighting made it difficult to make-out her facial experiences and her expression were hard to decipher. However, the conversations that took place in the bed and at the dinning room table there effectively allowed the audience to use their personal experiences of relationships to enhance their viewing and perceptions of the play.
The supporting characters were really effective in giving the play more dimensions and adding humor to the production. Lawrence’s dead Uncle was hilarious and quite impressive in his ability to appear much older than he was. We were also left wondering what happened to the “Juliet” character which, although unusual, only suggests that the acting and enthusiasm were effective.
It is evident that a lot of thought and time had gone into the production of this play. The actors made excellent use of the substantial space of the Drama Barn and were able to use the varied music and lighting to their advantage, especially in the bizarre and quite unsettling dreams that the protagonist experienced. Indeed, the dreams are almost as upsetting and confusing for the audience as for the character himself although, occasionally, the actors ended up blocking the audience from the main action.
Half-Moon Man was an excellent way to spend a Friday evening. The humor throughout the play ensured that the audience was not weighed down by the heavy questions about reality and life that the play was asking. The actors, the director and the producer were also impressively enthusiastic which only added to the delightfulness of the play.
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When did Nouse start awarding half stars?
Hurray! A decent review from Nouse! Review more often!
Nice to know the critic could be bothered to research the actors names…or read a dictionary.
glad you enjoyed the show
Since when did the word ‘humour’ have no ‘u’ in it?! We ain’t American!
“In her “nightmare” scene, the lighting made it difficult to make-out her facial experiences and her expression were hard to decipher.”
What in god’s name is a facial experience? It sounds like some sort of obscene internet phenomenon popular in the far east.
Bloody hell Nouse – this is as bad as Vision for typos/spelling mistakes… Do you not have a sub-editing team???
[...] hope that NSDF enjoyed the wacky, abstract dreams we played out on stage. We got a good review from Nouse and not so good from The Yorker but I don’t think the reviewer understood the play so all in [...]