Can you make a ‘greatest hits’ mixtape of theatre’s top monologues?
The past year and a bit has seen theatres take an increasingly creative approach to offering product to audiences and opportunities for creatives.
As we near the end of Covid restrictions, many on both sides of the fence are undoubtedly anticipating a return to normal – but before that happens, Progress Theatre have a final project in the pipeline that offers people a theatrical night out from the comfort of their own homes.
But is it worth the £5 entry fee when it’s stacked up against cheaper offerings on freeview and streaming services?
The evening’s setup helps to distinguish it from the competition – 10 monologues delivered live over Zoom, directly from the actor’s home to your computer, and representing a veritable who’s who of theatre’s top writers from the household names (Shakespeare, Chekhov) to the less recognisable but no less powerful (such as Laura Wade).
I was slightly sceptical going into the evening – how well can you understand a monologue that’s been lifted from the middle of a play and performed without context?
The theatre approaches this problem by inserting title cards before each segment which generally helps to set the scene. Some sections (particularly those stemming from older plays) still lose a little something – I found it tricky to form a connection with some of the characters without having had the time to get to know them – but for the most part they work well, some of the more modern pieces especially almost standing as self-contained stories that require no prior knowledge.
It’s also a refreshing change from National Theatre screenings by virtue of being performed live – it carries the same intimacy as an in-person performance, the actors and actresses as vulnerable and at risk of making mistakes as they would be in the flesh.
So it lands as a rawer and much more personal experience, especially in the more nakedly emotional pieces such as Jackie’s monologue from Charlotte Keatley’s “My Mother Said I Never Should” (performed by Emma Starling), and Alec’s monologue from Laura Wade’s “Colder Than Here” – a performance by Mikhail Franklin that reminded me of the excellent “Talking Heads” series by Alan Bennett, and which is worth the price of admission alone.
The evening also goes to great pains to make full use of the digital format – the actors’ homes mix with rendered backgrounds and darkened environments to make every piece feel different; stationary computer cameras give way to hand-held phone cams; while music and video editing between segments play a role in creating atmosphere. The fact that the theatre’s able to pull this together and deliver it (largely seamlessly) on the fly is a definite credit to the production team and directors Becky Moir and Lara Collins.
So if you’re a theatre buff who appreciates creativity, or you want to see a fresh spin on some classic monologues, there’ll be plenty here to digest.
“Lessons In Life” runs from the 19th – 21st May (7.45pm); tickets are £5 and available at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/progresstheatre
