Theatre Review: East, Fountains Theatre Company

IT WAS WITH a certain degree of hopeful trepidation that I went to see East, Fountain Theatre Company’s first show in the Assembly Rooms in three years.

Not because of the company – past  FTC shows have met some rave reviews, and certainly not because of the actors as the cast contained some of Durham’s finest. What concerned me was the play itself and the approach director Matthew Dale-Harris had taken to its gritty portrayal of East End life.

It would have been all too easy for the show to have become a tired replica of an episode of Eastenders were Dale-Harris to opt for a realistic approach to the script, and having not heard anything about the production this was where my concerns lay.

What the audience were presented with however was anything but tired.  Fantastically stylised, the show was a marvel.  As exaggerated as the number of obscenities uttered, the actors hammed up the stereotypes of their characters perfectly to capture the essence of their pitiful, wasted existence.

Cassie Bradley in particular stood out with one of the most engaging performances I’ve seen in Durham.

The design of the show was equally impressive with tormented clown-esque make up adding a disturbingly believable quality to the characters when paired with realistic costumes.  Similarly, the set gave every appearance of normality but the precise use of lighting was pivotal in aiding set the tone of the scene, as was the music and use of film which was incorporated into the play.

The choice to shoot the footage projected in a light hearted mock silent film style was not only well executed but also entirely unexpected given the very hard hitting style the play had taken thus far. This somewhat incongruous inclusion was a fantastic addition and made subsequent fairground mime interlude even more amusing.

Dale-Harris must be commended for his skilled use of different styles and mediums as altogether they effortlessly contributed to a visually and aurally stunning piece of theatre.