Aftermath – Cluntergate Centre, Horbury

Writer: Lottie Burns

Director: Connie Peel

Rebel Roots Theatre Company is touring Aftermath, a warning about spiking of drinks, to various small venues, mostly without stages, in the vicinity of Leeds. This undeniably worthy production is undermined somewhat, however, by the fact that – over a period from Layla’s birth to the birth of her own child – it covers, briefly and often by means of a shouted argument followed by a walk-out, the multiple problems of parenting two wayward children turning into young adults. At the end everyone is apologising for their failures and the happy family is restored – if only it were as easy as that!

The cast of four work wonders in imposing some sort of unity on the production, memorising not just their lines, but constant changes of stage furniture. We begin with four hospital screens across the acting area and characters coming and going at the birth of Layla, but then follows a bewildering succession of tables and chairs – and, most important, a bed – in assorted lay-outs, often in place for maybe two minutes, all of them brought on and off with impressive efficiency by the cast. And Sean Riley, as technician, adds to the unity with an eclectic musical background.

Connie Peel manipulates her actors well enough in the brief scenes of childhood and adolescence, but it is only in the longer later scenes of this 90-minute-plus play that we really engage with the characters. As Layla, writer Lottie Burns goes through the stroppy-to-sentimental spectrum with vigour and a strong sense of identity: it’s debatable what effect her parents’ reaction to her revealing outfits has on her – a sort of a warning sign missed. Otherwise Allie Young’s Melissa, Layla’s mother, is most successful in establishing a sympathetic character, but Richard Koslowsky (David, the father) and Tyler Pickles (brother Ethan) tend to play scene by scene, every one something different.

Unfortunately the Cluntergate audience barely reached double figures, but it’s arguable how effective Aftermath is in persuading young woman of the dangers of drink spiking: it was noticeable that a group of young women in the audience eschewed glasses, no doubt from force of habit. Layla’s problem is ignoring heavy-handed parental attempts – or perhaps David’s problem is attempting to control his daughter without fully understanding her, but for all that Ethan’s experience of spiking is underplayed at the time; Layla’s leads to life-changing consequences.

Aftermath continues to tour the Leeds area.