Writers: Ben Tagoe, Julie Jones, Lindsay Williams, Diane Whitley and Phil Mealey
Directors: Miranda Parker, Cherylee Houston, Hannah Ellis-Ryan, Amelia Griffiths and Adam Cachia
It has been a difficult couple of weeks for Manchester theatrical institution JB Shorts. The usual selection of six mini plays, mainly penned by TV writers, has been cut down to five this time.
Organisers were forced to suspend one of the shorts after serious allegations were made online by one of the actors and the director, who both withdrew from the company.
The off-stage drama does not appear to have affected the overall show; however, the quality is certainly not at the same level as in some previous incarnations.
Things begin with Ben Tagoe’s Meeting Morag. This is classic JB Shorts. Well observed, laser-sharp dialogue and tight, unfussy direction from Miranda Parker.
The premise covers fairly well-trodden ground. Widower Paul (Matt Lanigan) brings back new flame Danielle (Sonia Morris) to meet defensively grumpy daughter Morag (Libby Hall). Morag does not want her late mother to be replaced or forgotten and is taking that out on her father’s new partner.
It is fairly clear where this one is going but, although the journey might be familiar, it is still hugely enjoyable thanks to some laugh out loud lines and hilarious observations. Who can disagree that slow cooker meals are the culinary equivalent of cement or that we should all draw the line at corduroy?
Julie Jones’ Ministry of Me is a great punchline, hampered by too much setup. We follow three drama school graduates as they struggle to make a career for themselves before noticing the inherent theatricality of certain modern evangelical churches. The ones always asking for money.
Hope Vidal, Oscar Jones and Jack Furlong are all fizzing with energy, particularly Furlong. Director Cherylee Houston makes nice use of the backscreen projections to give the audience a sense of space.
The payoff, when we get there, is surprising, funny and really nicely done. It just takes far too long to arrive.
The first act concludes with one of the two standout plays of the night. Dogsbody by Lindsay Williams.
Jay (Liam Scholes) has a surprise for girlfriend Sabrina (Hope Yolanda). A puppy. Trouble is, she can’t keep it. Jay is only showing her the dog – who very nearly steals the show – on his way to deliver it to his boss. Or, more accurately, his boss’s daughter.
We never see said daughter but one look at her dad, gangland boss Johnno (Ryan Clayton), and we immediately realise Jay absolutely has to make the delivery. Trouble is, Sabrina’s bonded. As Jay points out, he’s also bonded to his kneecaps. But he agrees to keep hold of Killer/Fifi.
What follows is chaotic, entertaining, and really cleverly directed by Hannah Ellis-Ryan. Scholes is brilliant: interacting with the audience, dousing himself in water, attempting to give the kiss of life to a fish.
The second act begins with the other standout short. Diane Whitley has created something very special with Mirror Mirror.
Dementia suffering Joyce (Jenny Gregson) is looking back at her life and looking through the mirror in her care home room when she spots something. The figure looking back at her isn’t the ‘wrinkled prune’ she has become, but her younger self (played by Jessica Forrest).
Is this just the imagining of a lost mind or something more? The ethereal quality to the storytelling is matched with Forrest’s floating, airy movement. That’s neatly contrasted with a heartbreakingly believable performance from Gregson.
Whitley’s writing perfectly portrays the internal monologue of a muddled brain at the same time as encapsulating the feeling of love and loss in a nutshell.
Special credit too to Elika Scere Jacobs, as nurse Rosie, who does a lot with a comparatively small amount of script and action.
The audience is transfixed and left guessing until the very end.
The night concludes with Phil Mealey’s Daddy’s Home. Writer Mealey also stars in this one as Gary, a man whose house and life is slightly uprooted with the return of his dad from the care home he’d been admitted to.
That’s because daddy Bill (Steve Royston Brown) has been evicted after shacking up with care home nurse Sandra (Lynn Roden). Gary’s initial reticence at having to share his home eventually changes, but why?
Royston Brown is well cast here as the loveable rogue and Mealey’s writing is accessible and warm. However, the play feels a little like it is still in development and the payoff, while fun, doesn’t feel particularly earned by the action that precedes it.
More generally, the JB Shorts company have settled well into their new home at 53Two and the space under the arches is perfectly suited for staging showcases of this kind.
The gaps between the plays are still as swift and seamless as before and its nice to see that elements of the set and props are shared between the pieces. It might have been nice, however, to see some more ambitious staging or a few more bits of scenery being used.
Let’s hope JB Shorts’ issues are resolved soon because it remains one of the most reliably good nights of theatre in the city.
Runs until 12 April 2025
The Reviews Hub Score
Reliably well-written
