New Works Festival, Student Theatre Glasgow Review
Written by Jaqueline or Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
This week at Glasgow University saw their thirteenth annual New Works festival- an arts event that showcases experimental student theatre across a range of genres. The three-day-long festival presents two shows per night, and the double bill of plays I saw was interspersed with live music (including a solo saxophonist and an orchestra) as well as charity fundraising. The two productions I saw were a highly contrasting pair of plays ranging from mythology to murder mystery.
The night’s first performance was Simon Kielty’s “He Bends the Tall Grass”, a modern-day interpretation of folklore. In the tale, social worker Emily visits a small Scottish village following an unexplained incident in a nursery. Upon arrival, she meets Mairi, Alistair and their ‘son’- a wooden figure who dictates every move in their lives.
This is a dark and eclectic production that forces the audience to embrace the chaos and horror of the situation that the characters find themselves in. Though the production was advertised as having a 20-minute runtime, the production actually lasted for closer to an hour. In this time, the show covered themes including motherhood, grief and bodily autonomy. One particularly poignant stylistic choice was the way in which the narrative would flit between the central plot line of the ‘child’s’ battle to take control; and Emily’s struggle with infertility.
This intriguing production leaves the audience with a lot of questions and leaves numerous aspects up to interpretation. The juxtaposition between Emily’s infertility and her fight for bodily autonomy against the malevolent forces at work was both harrowing and impactful. This is definitely a show that takes some time to process and challenges the audience to delve deeper into their own perception of grief and trauma.
The second play in the duo was ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ by Noah McGarrity and Kathleen Tierney. Following the death of Neil Letterman, his upper-class auntie arranges a wake for his closest companions- including his mistress, his ex-best friend and his flatmate’s drug dealer. What could possibly go wrong?
In this dark comedy, everyone seems to be convinced that they are solely to blame for Neil’s death. Over the next hour, secrets are revealed, tensions rise and champagne is sipped. Though this show has an intriguing premise of a ‘murder mystery one wrong’, there were points where the plot progression was bordering on convoluted and could have benefitted from being condensed slightly.
Furthermore, the repetitive structure of the show became overwrought quickly as each character added another piece to the puzzle. This meant that it was hard to fully believe the narrative being told by any character… as the audience already knew that each confession was going to be overwritten shortly. With a few changes to the, structure the script could be greatly elevated and turn this into a gripping and engaging show.
Overall, the New Works Festival is a fantastic way to experience a huge variety of what Student Theatre at Glasgow (STAG) has to offer. Both of the productions I saw have heaps of potential, and I’m really looking forward to seeing which production STAG chose to take to the Edinburgh Fringe this summer.
