Islanders – 24:7 Theatre Festival, Manchester
Writer: Dick Curran
Director: Clare Howdon
Reviewer: Jo Beggs
The Public Reviews Rating: 
On the remote Farne Islands is a tiny warden’s hut and inside sits Peter (Mark Frampton), modern day hermit, escapee from the real world, a man at home in nature yet tortured by its fragility. As he awaits his daily boat-loads of twitchers and tourists he becomes ever more detatched, increasingly moody, his social skills slowly slipping away.
When city girl Nicola (Katy Slater) arrives, with her bird book and M&S Sushi, she’s everything Peter seems to be escaping from. She doesn’t know one species of Tern from another and it’s a definite mistake to reveal that she’s writing poetry about mermaids as part of her creative writing course. Her week on the island as a stand-in tour guide is going to be the longest week on Peter’s life.
But Nicola is determined to enjoy herself and Peter’s grumpiness isn’t going to stop her. As the week goes on and their reasons for turning their backs on reality emerge, an uneasy friendship develops.
But they’re not alone. As well as thousands of seabirds, there’s Ellen (Claire Dean). Ellen is Peter’s boss, and she watches every move he makes.
Islanders is a real success, Dick Curran has created a wonderful little world – a claustrophobic bubble set in a bleak wilderness, and all the production elements come together beautifully to create it. A simple but effectively realistic set, lovely black and white film of the Islands and a collage of sound evoking memories from the past are set alongside Clare Howdon’s no-nonsense, pacy direction to create Peter’s world.
This little hut is his castle, and he is the undoubted king. Strong performances from all members of the cast make this a very enjoyable play but Mark Frampton inhabits its fascinating central character with total conviction and delivers a hugely entertaining and convincing performance.
Definitely one of the highlights of the 24/7 Festival.
Runs until the 31st of July
Tags: 24:7 Theatre Festival, Claire Dean, Clare Howdon, Dick Curran, Fringe, Islanders, Katy Slater, Manchester, Mark Frampton
8:59 am on July 28th, 2010
Went to see the play last evening (27 July) and really enjoyed it – it was fun! I think everyone else in the audience did as well … we were not alone in our thoughts, having talked to others afterwards.
There is no point in describing the story, as it is all detailed in the main review on site … but go see the play, you will love it … it is very well acted, the main character is superb, very convincing, script is wonderfully written … the whole experience is excellent … the simple set really works.
Go see it ….