Hannah Esnouf, Author at North West End UK

27Jan

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

Touch – Unity Theatre

Becky Downing has carefully crafted a beautiful script that brings four people’s stories together. As they were playing to a sold-out crowd, there was high expectation for the long-awaited verbatim piece, and it was received with great warmth. Verbatim, for those that are unaware, is a theatrical device where the real words of people are used in the script. In this instance, it was handled well, and the language of those people was owned and honoured by those on stage. Set over one day, this play tells a lot more about the connections between four neighbours, and for me the best moments were when everyone was still. At times it felt that the movement in and around the space was scripted and not spontaneous, which distracted from what was being said. Using a wonderfully diverse cas...

You Are My Sunshine – Unity Theatre

Izzy Campbell took on the daunting task of writing and starring in her own work. You are my Sunshine shines a light on the difficult conversations that families have about mental health. With only two performers, the task was big, and they made a large effort to try and make it succeed. It begins with music, a common device for the bringing on of characters, but in this case, it went on for too long and the dialogue got lost. Faye Donnellan chose a simple setting of a living room set-up which worked for the intimacy of the conversations that followed. Yet, the yellow balloons, the same ones on the poster, were rid of in the first scene, perhaps they could have had a bit more relevance throughout the performance to be deemed necessary to have onstage. The character of Emily, played by...

Stocking Fillers – Liverpool’s Royal Court Studio

Stocking Fillers – Liverpool’s Royal Court Studio December 2022 If you need something to make you feel Christmassy, look no further. Amongst the wholesome decoration of the studio, Emma Bird has allowed these short plays to shine. With a drunken Santa, a police investigation, and a church flasher, laughs were not running short. As a collection of short plays provided by the new writer's scheme at the theatre, it was a fantastic collection of tales. Rachel Hunter’s Derby Day Domestic was a lovely way to open. Pip was a highlight and the comedy timing was sharp. Tendency was had to verge on playing for a laugh, but it was minor and didn’t distract from the story. White Christmas Lies by Wallace Charles was a highlight for me. Performed with conviction and warmth, this monologu...