Published in Northings
WHEN babies are born, they assume they are at the centre of
the universe. It’s only as we mature that we realise ours may not be the
only perspective.
Even as late as adolescence, we don’t always have an understanding of
cause and effect. We observe something happening and assume we must
have played a part in it. The power of the ego makes it hard for us to
grasp that events can take place without us, whether they be minor
incidents such as friends going off in a sulk, major break-ups such as
parents divorcing, or global catastrophes such as aeroplanes dropping
out of the sky.
This is the challenge facing Sparky and Siouxsie in Davey Anderson’s
teen-friendly play for the ThickSkin company. Played by Brian Vernel and
Samantha Foley, these two troublesome and troubled standard-grade
pupils have convinced themselves of their ability to influence the world
around them, whether through witchcraft or telekinesis. The spells
Siouxsie writes in her secret black book have a habit of coming true,
while Sparky seems to redirect his ADHD energy into moving objects
beyond his physical reach.
The playwright keeps us believing they really might have these gifts,
which takes Neil Bettles’ production onto a metaphysical plain, as
objects take flight of their own accord and people are mysteriously
injured. Doing a similar job are the filmed projections that turn the
set – consisting of two banks of school lockers – into all manner of
locations, from teen-goth bedroom to precipitous rooftop. For the
teenage audience that’s attracted to the show, it must make school seem
altogether more exotic than the humdrum place they’re used to.
Indeed, The Static seems to hit the spot with this young
audience for its lively 65 minutes. With Pauline Lockhart and Nick Rhys
playing the sympathetic and vulnerable figures of authority, Anderson
uses the direct-address storytelling technique perfected by David Greig
in plays such as Yellow Moon, which keeps the action fluid and theatrical.
Yet for all the fantasy and fun, there’s still something earthbound
about this coming-of-age romance. Like a TV script, the story is full of
incident but covers relatively little emotional ground, meaning the
happy ending is sweet and satisfying but not especially moving.
© Mark Fisher, 2012
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