Posts

Showing posts with the label Karen ascoe

Featured Post

Bear with me: Sun Bear @ParkTheatre

Image
If The Light House is an uplifting tale of survival, Sarah Richardson’s Sun Bear gives a contrasting take on this. Sarah plays Katy. We’re introduced to Katy as she runs through a list of pet office peeves with her endlessly perky coworkers, particularly about coworkers stealing her pens. It’s a hilarious opening monologue that would have you wishing you had her as a coworker to help relieve you from the boredom of petty office politics.  But something is not quite right in the perfect petty office, where people work together well. And that is her. And despite her protesting that she is fine, the pet peeves and the outbursts are becoming more frequent. As the piece progresses, maybe the problem lies in a past relationship, where Katy had to be home by a particular hour, not stay out late with office colleagues and not be drunk enough not to answer his calls. Perhaps the perky office colleagues are trying to help, and perhaps Katy is trying to reach out for help. It has simple staging

Mother knows best: Merit @Finborough

Image
I have a sister so I have witnessed a few mother-daughter conversations over the years. But pehaps none are as odd as those presented here in Merit by Alexandra Wood. It is currently playing at the Finborough Theatre . It's a two hander that explores the growing apart between a mother and daughter. And the growing gulf between the rich and poor. But you are never sure whether the global financial crisis, inequality or just good old fashioned mother-daughter rivalry is what is at play here. It is ambiguous but it is also a compelling study of a parent who wishes her daughter every success. But she'll also be there to take her daughter down a peg or two if she gets too successful...