It was a pleasure to experience the last performance of Michelle Read’s play On A House Like A Fire performed by the author at Bewley’s Café Theatre.
Listening to the play involved the audience in a sensory journey. Words were carefully arranged and orchestrated to create images, associative thoughts and emotions, accompanied by Brian Keegan’s musical chords which blended beautifully to highlight subtle nuances of memory and mood. Michelle Read’s lasting relationship with her deceased mother is conveyed in theatrical and therapeutic devices; the playwright transforms her loss creatively, using ordinary household objects to map stories in celebration of her mother’s life. A scrapbook of memories circle and repeat in rhythmic prose/poetry embodied in a flickering screen which takes us back to snapshots in an ordinary woman’s journey through life.
The set design by Ellen Kirk and House Like Fire Productions supports the theme of the play- i.e. memory. Our eye lingers and scans the space to rest on dotted memorabilia: glasses, scissors, old photographs, an old map and the magic of placenames which were associated with the playwrights childhood. All the props are strategically placed to connect our thoughts to our own loved ones who have passed.
The play deserves to be seen again within bereavement groups, schools and community venues to commemorate the importance of storytelling and memory, because as long as we remember we will not forget those who have passed.
Reviewed 8th June 2024.
Moving
The Review's Hub Score
