Buried Child

Walking in the studio to see a crop field and hearing the sounds of a soul/country song I was immediately reminded of the sublime set-up of Lieutenant of Inishmore.And what followed was a performance that added yet another high credit to director, Paul Kerryson’s, portfolio.Leicester’s Curve theatre is currently showing their latest production, Sam Shepards’ Buried Child, and this is one show not to be missed.

Synposis
Vince and new girlfriend Shelley arrive at the remote farmhouse and walk straight into a terrifying night to remember. Why doesn’t anyone know who Vince is? A dark and sinister secret is set to be revealed.
The suspense builds in just one setting, with startling actions and surprising revelations. There’s certainly no place like home in this engrossing and disturbing thriller.

Former Stars in their Eyes presenter, Matthew Kelly, and Home and Away star Michael Beckley, who played McMurphy in Curve’s production of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest earlier this season, brought the characters of Dodge (Kelly) and Bradley (Beckley) to life.

As the stars of the show, it was clear that their experience and talents out-shone the younger cast members of Catrin Stewart playing Shelley and Lloyd Thomas as Vince.Stewart and Thomas’ sometimes exaggerated expressions made the second half seem transparent but their performance improved in act three which saw the audience hanging on to every word to find out the buried family secret.

Jane Lowe portrayed wife Halie as a sinister character who was only interested in pretence and denial. Her awkward relationship with Father Dewis, played by Gary Lilburn, was uncomfortable to watch but yet it was hard to look away.The middle son of the family, Tilden, played by Matthew Rixon, had a hard task of being a man who had regressed to being almost childlike because of something traumatic from his past – but what that past experience was exactly was something the audience had to wait to find out.

His on-stage mannerisms were eerie and he moved with caution just like a timid child. The most shocking part of the show came at the end of act two with a disturbing scene between Bradley and Shelley. After the lights when down and came back up again for act three, the audience were thrown into bewilderment by how the characters were going to recover from what they had just witnessed.

To everyone’s surprise act three started as the show had begun, with the characters in a daze and in denial.A huge part of the show was the spectacular set design by Paul Wills and lighting by Rob Halliday.The crop field was used as the roof of the farmhouse by turning it at an angle and lifted into the fly tower.

Whilst Halliday used lighting to illustrate characters ‘upstairs’ in the house in act one and three.
You have until December 3 to see this show so make sure you book your tickets today!
Tickets and information: http://www.curveonline.co.uk/ / 0116 242 3595

Photos by Johan Persson