Writer and Director: Rachel Otterson
Eden Gardens isn’t the idyllic leafy green suburb that the name suggests – quite the opposite. The rundown council estate is full of promise for its residents, but they are fighting to stay afloat in the midst of increasing knife crime, the cost-of-living crisis and the lack of opportunities given to young people in the local area.
Hannah, Cane and Able all live on the estate and have become close friends since their school days. Hannah (Rachel Otterson) is smart, often helping the boys with their homework and trying her best not to make it obvious how much she fancies Able. Cane (Jack Laurent) is easily influenced, quickly finding himself going down a bad path after he gets involved with the wrong crowd, putting his friendship with politically minded Able (Mekhi Francis) at risk. When the two come to blows it doesn’t end well for one of them, but imagine if they could turn back the clock and stop it happening?
This is a work in progress and a research and development performance so as expected, being only the first iteration of this show, it’s not fully formed at its current stage. The main premise of the show is based on the possibility of imagining a different outcome for the characters, yet strangely, this is the aspect that isn’t explored enough within the script. The ‘time travel’ back to the life-changing incident is only loosely explored, then quickly brushed over and abandoned. There is a lot of potential that could be extracted from this, showing alternative futures and conclusions for the characters, so the lack of imagination does disappoint in not being pushed further. The incident itself is a bit left-field and seems to come out of nowhere, without much explanation or comeuppance after the fact – and slightly undermines the prior character development as it throws the built-up relationships away and contradicts their initial unity.
The characters are all introduced well – each of them having their own segment to establish their personality and motives. They introduce the estate and its shortcomings very descriptively, so it’s very easy to quickly understand the struggle of the characters and how they’ve got to where they are. Politics are quickly outlined and the characters not only have their solo introduction moment in the spotlight but also interact with each other early in the performance, as they look back on the night in question. There are multiple references to it being a play and breaks of the fourth wall, which, once polished, could work well but in its current state feels like too much – and more focus needs to be on tightening the narrative before embellishing the rest.
Considering it’s the initial work in progress, the foundation is there, so when this show is more developed it has the opportunity to strengthen the narrative and create an intriguing production.
Reviewed on 10 June 2024
The Reviews Hub Score
Not Enough Imagination
