ED FRINGE 2011: Release – Pleasance Dome

Reviewer: Deborah Klayman

The Public Reviews Rating:

Developed with support from South Hill Park and the Young Vic, Release is a hard-hitting and highly visual production which follows the lives of three newly-released prisoners. All three actors are extremely talented and versatile, playing multiple characters and also utilising their considerable movement skills to convey the story.

We first meet the characters as they are coming out of prison, each for a different crime. Paul Tinto’s Kyle is rough around the edges but insistent he won’t go back inside, keen to rebuild his family relationships. Streetwise Hitesh (Shane Shambhu) does his best not to be dragged back into a life of crime by his new employer, and Verity Hewlett’s Becky just wants to stay clean so that she can get her daughter back from the care system. Each is challenged early on, and the play highlights the faults in a system that clearly doesn’t want people to re-offend, but prevents them from finding even the most menial of jobs which leads people back down familiar paths in an effort to make ends meet.

Based on two years of research, the piece carefully highlights the difficulties for prisoners going back into the community without getting on its soapbox. There is excellent use of projection and news reports to highlight certain sections, and the trio of performers are all committed and engaging. The physical sections are stunning, beautifully choreographed and executed – with a solo Indian dance from Shambhu’s which is truly remarkable and very evocative. All three actors are very strong, but Hewlett gives a truly outstanding performance as Becky, imbuing her with amazing physical anxiety and painful realism – a stark contrast from the stylised physical scenes. A very engaging and thought-provoking piece of theatre, and one I would definitely recommend.