Young Critics Corner | 'SPIN!’ – A Review by James Wallace
James Wallace (21years) recently joined our Young Critics programme and gives his first review 'Spin' performed at the CatStrand on the 11th April.
I, throughout most of my life already, have attended and enjoyed hundreds of productions and performances. Anything from pantomimes to plays, musicals to gigs, I fell in love with the art of performing and putting on a show. Why you may ask? Its rather simple, I just do! I find it so enjoyable to see people from all walks of life and cultures perform. I like this as I feel it distracts you from the overbearing and scary world that unfortunately is out there. Drama and theatre have always been favourites of mine and when I was given the change to become a CatStrand theatre critic, I was over the moon!
'Spin!’ presented by A Vanishing Point & An Tobar And Mull Theatre (Co Production), was my first ever piece of theatre to critique. I was so worried that I would go in and watch and it not being my cup of tea and walk out feeling awful wondering because it did not appeal to me. However, I am thrilled to say that this was not the case. This production was one word, fantastic!
The show explores themes of loneliness, AI and what lies ahead in the future. The set, while being relatively simple but effective, really adds to the overall enjoyment of the performance. The set contained a chair, a table, and of course the main star of the show, the washing machine!
As for the performers, there really was no fault with either of them. Louise Haggerty playing ‘Pauline’ from the beginning was a brilliant and talented actress. Her emotions really portrayed her character well and I felt almost instantly that I knew her character as she played it so seamlessly like we had met before. Andrew Keay playing the infamous washing machine ‘Max’ also gave such a striking performance. He kept changing personas with such grace and talent and at the end gave the audience such discomfort as he turned into this narcissistic and evil character. Both actors worked together well and the chemistry between them was second to none.
Overall. I thoroughly enjoyed ‘SPIN!’ Every aspect of it including the writing, staging, and performing worked really well together. I do hope vanishing point & A Tobar and Mull Theatre have a successful tour with this production and I look forward for them to come back to the CatStrand with more outstanding plays.
CatStrand Young Critics Programme - 18 year plus The Young Critics is a programme of CatStrand Young Creatives funded by Holywood Trust. We know that theatre is a place to develop young artists and young citizens and we promote youth creative art opportunities that focus on the artistic, personal and social development of young people. It is part of Young Creatives commitment to developing young people’s awareness and appreciation of the aesthetic of theatre and performance events. CatStrand Young Critics programme is open to young adults who are interested in watching theatre, dance and music performances and critically discussing, analysing and reviewing work. Click here for full details