The Sociable Plover at Old Red Lion Theatre Review

Reviews

18 May

Written by Cathie for Theatre & Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review

20 years after its original unveiling at the Old Red Lion Theatre, The Sociable Plover makes a triumphant return to the same theatre with this darkly fantastic revival. Tim Whitnall’s tale of birdwatching, life, death and sinister secrets has been brilliantly reawakened by Medium Rare productions.

The play begins quite innocently. Jack Robertson is Roy Tunt, a simple man utterly obsessed with bird watching and ensuring every inch of the hide and his experience there is “just right”. He has found all but one of the 540 birds needed to enter the ornithological society hall of fame, and he is determined to spot the sociable plover, a bird that usually is found in Asia and sometimes gets lost over in the UK. After a short stint, we meet Callum Lil as “Dave John” who seems rather sinister in his mad dash across the marsh to find shelter from the storm in the hide.

Without too many spoilers, the vast majority of the plot is seeing these two broken individuals connect over power tools, discuss the tragic elements of their lives. Tunt is middle class repressed snobbishness and John is working class freedom, although also referred to as a chav by Tunt under his breath. This play is very cleverly written with many quick-witted retorts and zingers, playfully using the audience’s expectations of the two stereotypes to set up a sinister twist of plot that you won’t expect. Director Christa Harris has been phenomenal in ensuring that this play, firmly set in 2005, retains every aspect of its comedic, darkly ghoulish thriller style that delights in subverting any audience’s expectations. The tension is perfectly wound throughout, and the conclusion is the perfect blend of fear, compassion and obsession.

The set is meticulous. Jack Valentine has created a perfect example of a bird hide, with every inch of the stage utilised to its fullest to both reveal and hide elements of the characters. The sound and light design by Benedict Esdale worked incredibly well to make the set feel larger than life and evokes the oncoming storm in literally blood-chilling ways.

This is a powerful tale of subverting expectations, the difficulty in finding connections with others and how snap judgements on others can put you in great danger. All while neatly wrapped in the search for the rare sociable plover. This is an excellently executed play, at 75 minutes running time, will leave you feeling invigorated and slightly horrified at the depths humanity can sink to. If you enjoy dark British humour, quirky characters, thrillers with great twists and a sparkling cast, then this is the show for you.