Grand Finale: Two Reviewed

If I am ever critical of a piece of St Andrews theatre, a pang of guilt strikes me in the chest: am I being too harsh? Perhaps it is too optimistic […]


If I am ever critical of a piece of St Andrews theatre, a pang of guilt strikes me in the chest: am I being too harsh? Perhaps it is too optimistic to expect professional standards of theatre from a student forum? Then a production like ‘Two’ comes along to reinstall my faith in the artistic capabilities of a group of 21 year old students. Believe me when I say that this outstanding production was likenable to a professional theatrical piece.

Plot wise, the narrative both fictionally and literally took place within a pub, although judging by the accents of the characters, fictionally, this pub was firmly embedded into the North of England. In a unique spin, the narrative had begun prior to the audience’s entry, with friendly bartenders Emma Taylor and Frazer Hadfield roaming the area from the offset heavily armed with Northern banter to ease the audience into their surroundings. After an energetic opening scene and a moving monologue from Hadfield, suddenly both characters were offstage. Then, one by one, the audience was treated to a conveyor belt style display of monologues and duologues each one involving different characters but each character played by either Hadfield or Taylor. The bartenders that the audience had become so enamoured with at the start repeatedly popped in and out of the narrative, and were the characters that featured in the show’s final duet.

The most impressive feature of this production was the idiosyncratic imprint that the presidential directorial team, Ben Anderson and Joanna Bowman, stamped on this play. After the show, Anderson enlightened me as to how the script specifies that play should be performed. The original script presupposes that the play will be performed on a stage and suggests that actors should walk round the back of a prop bar before each character transformation. Bowman and Anderson, however, set aside this direction in favour of a more innovative idea: they used an actual pub (as already mentioned); they used the actual exit out of the room as the stage exit (which was at the opposite end of the room to the bar), and they used entry through this door as a precursor to each character transformation. These directorial choices were highly effective. The combination of the fact that the audience was physically at the centre of the action and actually in a pub, formulated a truly immersive experience. The use of entry through the door to the pub as a precursor to character transformation added a sense of intrigue and suspense to the production; the audience having absolutely no idea what was to come through the door next. Furthermore, these decisions made physical interaction between characters that were played by the same actor possible. For example, one of Taylor’s characters had to hastily rush out of the pub. Taylor signified this by violently pushing the exit door but she then proceeded to remain where she was stood (not walking through the door). She then instantaneously assumed a new character whom the character that had just left ‘barged past’. This ability to enable two characters played by the same person to physically interact was quite frankly genius, and served as a much more creative and interesting means of transitioning from one character to another than would have been possible otherwise.

The performances were a further highlight. With Hadfield, it was evident that with each character he had set aside every characteristic feature of his own physical conduct and upon this tabula rasa layered specific mannerisms unique to each personage. As a result of which, each character was totally different, ranging from the fumbling, round rimmed glasses wearing nerd whose wife had banned him from sleeping in her bed, to the impounding and ominous spouse abuser who prowled when he walked and scanned the area like a lion hunting for prey. Taylor too excelled in this respect, but the most impressive feature of her performance was her sheer stage presence. Each of her portrayals was so energy-infused and finely crafted that it was difficult not to be utterly transfixed. Both performances were rich in emotion with their the final duet seamlessly transitioning from highs of glass smashing anger and extreme frustration to lows of pathos, sadness and reconciliation, moving many audience members to tears.

In conclusion, ‘Two’ was an exceptional piece with innovative direction and majestic performances. Evidently, this play served as the final farewell from actors Hadfield and Taylor, and director Ben Anderson, three individuals who have contributed substantially to St Andrews theatre over the past four years. I’d like to well and truly wish them all the best with their future plans.