Expectations are dangerous things. Walking into the New Diorama again to see another part of The Faction’s rep season, I was greeted by revellers humming the conga. The party was in full swing, we were invited to take our seats and wait our turn. I should have instead been looking at the pious Kristin (Kate Sawyer) as she cooked the kidney she plucked from her master’s veal. Her dour demeanour was a truer indication of what lay ahead.

Miss Julie is a thought-provoking and powerfully performed piece of theatre. It is virtually a two-hander, as Jean (Cary Crankson) and Miss Julie (Leonie Hill) flirt and feud and fret through the 90-minute run time.

I was never quite sure where the script would go next. It begins with Kristin doting on the charming Jean as he regales her with stories. We learn that Kristin and Jean are engaged, or as near enough as they can be on meagre servant’s wages.

No sooner has Jean promised Kristin the next dance that the tipsy and mischievous Miss Julie saunters in and orders the return of her favoured dance partner, Jean. Kristin sits the dance out and goes to sleep. No sooner has she closed her eyes than some first rate flirting fires up between the two leads.

I thoroughly enjoyed this half of the play. The teasing, the secrecy, the taboo. I was mesmerised as Jean was caught by the barbs of temptation. But the second half didn’t match up. The intensity only increased from there on in. The situation grew darker with each thorny remark and exposed deceit. The two actors gave everything they had with grief marked on their cheeks. I cannot fault their talent but the story left me cold.

The sympathy held for these characters was eroded bit by bit until I felt that they deserved each other and their unhappiness. The charm was merely a pretence and status was won by a whore’s trick. I didn’t like what I was seeing simply because I didn’t want it to be true.

The end of the play began to dip into lunacy as the characters felt it preferable to reality. Had I been prepared for it I could have really enjoyed this turn, but I found it strange. Where was the party I wanted to be a part of? Where were the revellers?

My notions got in the way of my fully enjoying this well acted play. I urge you to go expecting the unexpected for many secrets lie buried below Miss Julie’s home. The Faction are an inventive and strong ensemble – I anticipate great things from them in the future.

Miss Julie is being performed as part of the REP Season by Faction Theatre at New Diorama Theatre. For more information and tickets, see the New Diorama Theatre’s website.

Related Posts:

• Review: Mary Stuart
• Review: Twelfth Night
• Review: The Dark Room
• Review: The Seagull Effect
• Spotlight On: The Faction Theatre Company

Classic texts such as Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller are often given a facelift by companies wishing to explore them in new and exciting ways. The classic texts are often considered a right of passage for actors and directors alike, with even the most prestigious of those who grace our stages returning to them after refining their art elsewhere. They are not, however, an easy task. So it is a joy to have the young and brash Faction Theatre Company tackling Schiller’s text with such impeccable force as part of their REP Season playing at The New Diorama Theatre. A Younger Theatre’s Ryan Sullivan had already given praise to Twelfth Night, so my expectations were high for Mary Stuart. Faction Theatre Company proved that skill and talent can be found in the tiniest of details and moments.

Harking back to Elizabeth I’s reign over England and the uprising of Mary Stuart’s followers, Schiller’s text focuses on the dark and troublesome relationship between these two cousins, in a battle of religion, power and dominance over the men that surround them. Schiller’s text is much like a pendulum that swings back and forth between the power struggle.

For Mark Leipacher’s production it is this sense of the movement and claustrophobic chaos that surrounds these two enchanting women (Mary Stuart brilliantly played by Derval Mellett and Elizabeth I played by Kate Sawyer with forceful determination), that makes Mary Stuart a compelling and utterly engrossing evening of theatre. Rarely does fringe theatre see the sheer level of commitment to text, delivery of dialogue and transgression of character than Leipacher’s direction has offered to Mary Stuart. It’s a production that encourages its audience to sink their teeth into Schiller’s delightful portrayal of our historical past.

It would be hard to comment on Mary Stuart without discussing the stripped-back and exposed staging that gives life to The New Diorama Theatre. Faction Theatre Company’s REP Season makes full use of the black box studio with minimal but clever lighting by Martin Dewar, little to no set, and costumes that often act more as signals of characters than dressing them completely. As an audience we are are drawn into this sparce landscape and revel in Schiller’s text. Faction Theatre Company gives so much life to the text that their ensemble style of performance works flawlessly.

Mary Stuart is gripping, with moments where I found myself leaning forwards into the action. It’s true that Leipacher has been helped in creating a brilliant production because the text on offer is of such richness, but it is the sense of ensemble, of commitment to dialogue, that wins us over. Written in 1800, there is a distinct feeling that Schiller would have been proud of this production had he been watching today.

There were other highlights amongst the cast, especially Richard Delaney’s concise and rich Lord Burleigh, Gareth Fordred’s slightly mischievous Leicester and Andrew Chevalier’s Tailbot. When centered around both Mellett and Sawyer as the two central female characters, the notions of exploitation, of gender power-struggles, and of constant determination, were made all the more pressing and clear. Sawyer showed a real sense of loss and unbalance in Elizabeth as she propelled herself to sign her sister’s death warrant.

What we have in Faction Theatre Company is a company that gives a clear and precise message to its audience. From text to performance to delivery, it is refined and enlightening. A joy to experience as part of their REP Season. If you had your wits about you, you would go and buy a ticket to all three shows before they sell out.

Mary Stuart is playing at the New Diorama Theatre until 18th February. For more information and tickets, see the New Diorama Theatre website.

Related Posts:

• Review: Miss Julie
• Review: Twelfth Night
• Review: The Dark Room
• Review: The Seagull Effect
• Spotlight On: The Faction Theatre Company

The plot of Twelfth Night has always been ridiculous. Violia dresses as a man and is employed by the Duke to woo the Countess. Naturally, the Countess falls for the servant, the servant falls for the master, and the master is really worried he may have a crush on his young charge. Keeping up?

It plays a lot like an 80s John Hughes movie, a fact that director Mark Leipacher runs with. What we get is a highly stylised world where the 80s never ended. Viola’s disguise as Cesario would not be out of place hanging in Ducky’s wardrobe or being gyrated in by George Michael at the height of Wham’s popularity.

In the romantic whirlwind of mistaken identities that follows, the loser comes out first. The unlucky Sir Andrew Aguecheek, played by Jonny McPherson, steals the show. I haven’t seen a greater toff since Harry Enfield’s befuddled Tim Nice-But-Dim. One look to the audience and we were in stitches. When Sir Andrew fails to get the girl (spoilers) the crowd let out a very genuine and spontaneous “aww”.

Clowning is the priority in this highly energetic performance, with no set to hold the cast back our entertainment comes thick and fast. The small stage becomes a gym as the actors start intense circuit training. Actors are lifted, carried, grappled and thrown about by each other in every way conceivable. Things soon got hot and heavy in the New Diorama.

Like any good screwball comedy all the characters in Twelfth Night have sex on their minds. Malvolio raves and contorts to the promise of his lady’s favour – in a performance Richard O’Brien would be proud of. Maria will floor you with her dry jest, and if that doesn’t work she’ll Febreeze you in the face. And Olivia’s eyes pop out of her head when she sees Cesario with his twin.

The show is played out with style and a knowing wink at the audience. Sadly, Sebastian and Antonio aren’t in on the joke and play all their scenes dreadfully seriously. Given the choice between a man fencing his own shadow and what barely passes for plot there is no contest for the audience’s attention. Fencing wins every time in Illyria.

Another time where the audience was divided came during Malvolio’s prison scene. As part of Sir Toby’s plot, Malvolio is imprisoned for being mad, and to rub salt in the wound Sir Andrew visits the inmate in his cell. The lighting and staging do a great job of creating the creepy dungeon that Malvolio is confined to. But seeing this ghoulish sight, we are afraid that Malvolio may actually be driven mad and our sympathy shifts to him. Feste’s taunting jars and makes him seem more of a bully than a Fool.

Feste redeems himself by singing some wonderful songs. These gave the show a lot of heart and made it feel more fulfilling than just a very well done farce. The frantic speed winds back, the lighting dims and a sweet song moves us, giving the audience, and the actors, a much appreciated breather.

Twelfth Night is playing at the New Diorama as part of The Faction’s residency there. I’ll be back to see Miss Julie later this month and will need a very good excuse not to see Mary Sue as well. It makes the show all the more impressive knowing everyone involved is also performing in the rest of the repertory season.

If you didn’t know who I was talking about when I mentioned Ducky, Wham, Tim Nice-But-Dim or John Hughes then this may not be the Twelfth Night for you. But if you want frivolous farce sprinkled with moments of genuine sentiment then this is for you. Jolly good show.

Twelfth Night is playing at the New Diorama Theatre as part of Faction Theatre’s REP Season until 14th February. For more information and tickets, see the New Diorama Theatre website. Image by Richard Davenport.

Related Posts:

• Review: Mary Stuart
• Review: Miss Julie
• Review: The Dark Room
• Review: The Seagull Effect
• Review: Twelfth Night

New Diorama Theatre is a brand new theatre in the heart of London dedicated to presenting the work of exciting established and emerging theatre companies. In our first 18 months we’ve won two Peter Brook Awards and welcomed over 15, 000 audience members to our small Central London home to a varitey of well-reviewed productions.

From January 2012 we have an opportunity for an individual who wants to start a career in the arts and is looking to gain some valuable experience, training, mentoring and references through a volunteer position. We have a 3-month position available for a minimum of 20 flexible hours per week, to suit your schedule. We need someone to help support and expand our marketing and publicity activity and are looking for some-one with marketing insight and an interest and understanding of theatre to work alongside our small, but pro-active theatre team.  You will be required to bring ideas to the table and initiate and co-ordinate projects.

In return, you will have the opportunity to develop new skills, gain contacts and references e.g. become familiar with Box Office software, Press Release writing, communication and organisation skills, flyer and poster distribution research and general Press, Marketing and Publicity skills. You will also have the opportunity to undertake Front of House duties.

We will pay the successful candidate travel expenses, per diems and provide them with materials to aid you in finding full time work (everything from stamps to CV printing).

Please email your CV and a covering letter to sophie@newdiorama.com explaining why you might be suitable for this post by:  Friday 16 December 5 pm  www.newdiorama.com

Related Posts:

• StageWon Seeks Marketing Events Intern and Production Intern
• Little Angel Theatre Seeks Marketing/Admin Intern and Tour Producer Intern
• Polka Theatre Seeks Marketing and Press Intern
• Gate Theatre Seeks Intern Jan-Apr 2011
• Theatre503 seeks shows for Edinburgh Previews