Obscenities – Theatrical Niche Ltd

Critically-acclaimed theatre company Theatrical Niche Ltd, builds on its successful tours of Uncle Vanya, A Doll’s House and Lady Windermere’s Fan on a streamed virtual tour of regional theatres with their new comic mini-series “Obscenities”.

Directed by Will Nash and written by Venetia Twigg & Will Nash, it’s suitable for Ages 15+ and is streaming regionally from the 2^nd April through to 1^st May.

Supported by Arts Council England, this marks Theatrical Niche’s first collaboration with Director Will Nash, creating a collaboration of film content for virtual audiences in lieu of live theatre during the pandemic.

Without a doubt the film brings theatre content to what would normally be touring audiences and makes theatre more accessible; will this continue to be a necessity for actors and theatre-goers alike for the foreseeable future?

Promising a comic mini-series following several South London women as they battle workmates, musical divas and their own bodily functions in the pursuit of their ultimate ambitions; this warts-and-all mini-series examines life now, with hopes & dreams unblemished.

By its title alone the tour promises ‘Obscenities’; “the state or quality of being obscene/an utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time”, which the tour never really achieved, but our expectations were set.

Filmed as an adaptation of three play scenes into a short film mini-series format, the focus and characters switched through the different scenes.   From workmates with a lottery win, which challenged what your own behaviours would be in the same situation, to the portrayal of pandemic relationships with characters dressed in a unicorn onesie (with a tail!), to friends going to the extreme to secure relationships; it was a short, sharp, real-life watch.  It would have been interesting to see how the characters could be developed more but by the time you’ve settled in with the popcorn it was all over. 

I found it more thought provoking than comical, delving into human nature, personalities and relationships in each of the three very different unrelated ‘episodes’.  I couldn’t determine a connection between each of the scenes so struggled with its own premise of a mini-series; perhaps there is more to come and that is why I am left wondering what happened next, perhaps that was the intention? http://www.theatricalniche.co.uk/performances.php  

Reviewer: Sue Gwynne

Reviewed: 15^th April 2021

North West End UK Rating: ★★★