Creators: Happystorm Theatre

Director: Sarah Meadows

Reviewer: Richard Hall

The Public Reviews Rating:

At the end of this extraordinary promenade production, performed in the Crypt ofSt Philip with St Stephen in Salford  Salford, the audience is led into a chamber simply referred to as the Story Room. In the room the walls are covered with research material detailing the true life stories of Salford addicts that the actors have used to devise the piece. On one wall is written the following: “There’s no single route into addiction and no single way out.” This sums up the play perfectly as the characters that the audience stumble upon during the performance are totally consumed and trapped by their addictions.

Performed in the atmospheric St Philip with St Stephen’s Crypt, the audience in small groups of five, (expertly guided by a magnificent team of helpers), are subjected to a series of 4 minute encounters, and marked by the ringing of a single bell, in which each of the characters talk openly about their addictions. These range from alcohol and drug dependency to self harm and obsessive compulsive disorder. How the characters became addicts and victims of their obsessions is not always made clear but the pain, acute suffering and anxiety that they suffer is very real, raw and utterly compelling.

An excellent cast, Matthew Ganley, Denise Kennedy, Stuart Wolfenden and Susi Wrenshaw perform with an admirable degree of restraint and dignity. The effect is to make the performances more believable, rounded and gripping. To see this cast at work is to fully appreciate and understand the term ensemble playing.

This production is like no other I have seen before; it manages at the same time to be both bold and intimate. Director Sarah Meadows and designer Kate O’Brien have created an astonishing underground theatrical experience which is greatly enhanced by Ste Myott’s sound design.

Thanks to Studio Salford, Not Part Of and the 24/7 Theatre Festival, Manchester and Salford are now home to a vast number of home grown theatre Companies. Never has the fringe scene been more vibrant. A relatively new addition to the sector, Happystorm Theatre, the producers of The Crypt Project are to be congratulated for pushing the boundaries and raising the bar with this stunning production. No amount of words can truly do justice to the quality of this production. With a limited run and an audience capacity of only 20 per performance, you are advised to book immediately to see this stunning piece of theatre while you can.

Runs until 31 May

 

The Crypt Project - St Philip with St Stephen in Salford, 5.0 out of 5 based on 3 ratings

Tags: Denise Kennedy, Fringe, Happystorm Theatre, Katie O’Brien, Matthew Ganley, Salford, Sarah Meadows, St. Phillip’s Church Salford, Ste Myott, Stuart Wolfenden, Susi Wrenshaw