Writer and Director: Jacob Ethan Tanner
Under the direction of new joint artistic directors Laurel Marks and Toby Hampton, new writers, directors, and performers are currently flexing their creative muscles as part of the Hope Theatre’s brand-new Write Club Festival (7 Jan – 1 Feb ). While promising to bring much-needed light to the gloomy days of January, Nurture is a play that brings mainly darkness – with occasional gags – to the proceedings.
The young man on stage speaks directly to the audience. He has a little book of jokes that he flips open and tries out. The jokes, of the prehistoric knock-knock variety, are howlingly poor. He keeps the joke book close should he find himself in a conversation situation. Awkward, a bit weird, too, and used to his own company, Sam Stafford, does a great job of embodying this oddball loner, so keen to be liked.
Elsewhere, a little boy goes missing. The mother performed by Gabi Martinez shields her gaze from the barrage of questions at a press conference. She behaves more like she’s auditioning for The X Factor than experiencing any shock at the sudden disappearance of her four-year-old. Then there’s the persistent, happy-to-help journalist, played by level and calm Milet Henderson. He has his own reasons for wanting to find the boy and find the abductor.
How these three characters cross paths and become entwined is the engine of this story which is arguably more plot than character-driven and manages to cram lots of story into a 70-minute performance. One character (joke book man) leaps out as being the most fleshed out, while the other two don’t quite manage to earn their keep or create the necessary plausibility – which is to do with the text rather than the performances. Some key plot points (no spoilers) are presented in quite a bold, expositional way and would benefit from a slower, more sensorial introduction to build tension.
There is arguably too much emphasis on the play’s theme (that poor parenting, specifically neglectful mothers, is the root of all evil) at the cost of character development and sub-text. Nurture asks some interesting and contentious questions sometimes too obviously, and in places, feels a little thin and undercooked. Nevertheless, the premise and ambition are bold, exactly what new writing should be, and Nurture is in a good place for more development moving forward.
Runs until 23 January 2025