Wednesday 12 November 2014

Swansea's Newest Company Make an Impression

The Man
Critical Ambition supported by GradCo.
No Sign Wine Bar
Tuesday 11th November 2014

Just the mere mention of a self-assessment tax form is enough to send any self-employed person into a state of dread. Trawling through a year’s worth of receipts, trying to decide what can legitimately be claimed as a business expense, is not anyone’s idea of fun. For Ben this challenge is even more difficult as every one of his receipts evokes memories from the past year; some wonderful, some heartbreaking.



New, young company Critical Ambition are making their stage debut with James Graham’s unconventional play The Man. At every performance the structure of the show will be completely different. Ben’s receipts are distributed randomly to the audience before the show, they then pass them to the young entrepreneur in any order they see fit throughout proceedings. This presents a real challenge to actor Tom Myles, playing Ben, but he navigates the unpredictable changes of mood with honestly and with real warmth.

We learn that Ben is a twin, but as a child his twin was diagnosed with an untreatable condition that makes extra bone grow in his tissue if he ever injures himself. Fear of having the same condition has made Ben over cautious and scared of living his life to the full.

He is an optimistic worrier and feels the need to call the Inland Revenue helpline multiple times to check that he is doing the right thing. He soon strikes up a touching friendship with call centre worker Lisa (Holly Carpenter) who patiently guides him through his self-assessment. Although a sparky actor, it somehow didn’t feel right to physically represent Lisa onstage, especially as she was positioned on a balcony above Ben throughout the whole play. It added an element of theatricality in what is otherwise a very honest and real-life feeling show.

The play itself is masterfully constructed. Each individual section gives the audiences clues to fit into the jigsaw puzzle of the whole show. Slowly, facts are revealed that allow you to make sense of something that was hinted at earlier. This production would be great to watch multiple times to see how the changing order can change your perspective.

For such an unpredictable show the young company handled it well. In an unconventional performance space and with limited tech they put on a slick performance. I feel the production will go from strength to strength as the performers get more used to the natural rhythm of the piece and begin to fully trust that the show will be a success no matter what order the sections are presented in.

Critical Ambition have chosen a fantastic show, the humour and genuine emotion make Ben so endearing it would be impossible not to enjoy the performance. They certainly have clear potential to make an impact on the theatrical scene of South Wales and I will look forward to their next production.

The Man  continues at No Sign Wine Bar until 13th November and will then go on tour.
Tour dates:
The Gate Arts Centre, Cardiff
4th Dec

Exeter Pheonix
8th-10th Dec

The Old Red Lion Theatre, Islington
15th Dec

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