I interviewed Megan Marie Griffith, one of the producers of this show, a few weeks ago. If you read that interview, one of the things that comes through most of all is her enthusiasm for this project; and enthusiasm is something that permeates all of this eclectic mix of performances. That may sound a little like damning with faint praise, but a showcase like this would die without it, and above all there’s plenty of talent on show to back it up.
One of the stated aims of Pull Your Finger Out Productions in producing Contact Compacts is to bring together creative talents from the North West to become something of a community working together. Watching this show I hope that they manage it. I would look forward to seeing what this group of artists might achieve together.
This incarnation features six shows, each running to around fifteen minutes in length, covering a variety of subjects, genres and forms. Celebrity Death Pool opens proceedings, with a dark, rude comic air and a truly eye-opening premise. A washed-up actor finds he has been kidnapped by a gambler who bets on which celebrities will die next – and he’s the next punt on the list. I thought the punch-line could have afforded a sharper edge to fit what had gone before, but of all of the stories on show I thought the idea here had the most legs if writer Dominic David Burgess is minded to develop it. Hylton Collins and Mary Emmot were hilarious as a publicity-hungry celebrity odd couple.
Hallelujah sets a completely different tone. Narrative is secondary as writer Tamra Smith gives the audience a journey through mental illness from the point of view of a patient. The performance takes in spoken word and dance. I’m a fan of physical theatre, and I would have liked to have seen the movement as a bigger part of the story-telling here. It’s nice to see PYFO taking it on though. I hope they continue to do so. Susan Jayne Robinson gives a committed and strong performance in the central role, supported well by Rick Bithell, who managed to exhibit a certain stage presence in a small role.
Famous for Fifteen Minutes started really strongly with Benedict Shaw giving an energetic performance as a preening superstar DJ. As the biggest gig of his career approaches, he’s flummoxed by the arrival of his estranged mother. There’s a natural change in the energy at this point, which I felt was a slight shame as the opening had really amused me. The scene between Shaw and Tracy Gabbitas as his mother is lovely though and writer Gareth George clearly has an ear for dialogue.
Cream Tea sees John Smeathers enjoying himself as retired secret agent Tiller, recounting an old love while he’s interviewed about his first novel. Smeathers looks like a kindly granddad but he loves a good swear word and cultivates a suave demeanour. You can believe he was there at the front line of the cold war. Sofi-Jo Bennett playing Ilsa, or more accurately Tiller’s memory of her, gives a performance with real heart. You can understand why she’s the woman that Tiller can’t forget. I would have liked to have seen more development between Tiller and Simmons (Ben Syder), the interviewer with his own reasons to find the old spy, but the relationship between Tiller and Ilsa is gorgeously captured, and you won’t mind that this takes centre stage.
Wings is a triptych of unrelated stories that take on sorrow and our reactions to it. Louise North’s writing has a poetic beauty and the performances here are particularly good. It would be nice to see this expanded into a longer series of vignettes of a similar theme.
Boxes brings proceedings to a close, and also brought the house down. When I read the premise I was looking forward to seeing the play realised. Julie Burrow (Supervisor) and Frazer Hamill (Worker) have a nice chemistry as two people trying to get along, but divided by their roles and background, and literally by a taped off area. The show is stolen from them, though, quite purposefully by Victoria Tunnah as Worker#2. Boxes will surprise and delight you. I defy you to leave without a smile on your face after you’ve seen this.
Altogether, Contact Compacts #3 is a really enjoyable and varied collection of shorts. Judging by the audience I saw it with, it looks set to be as popular as its predecessors, and deservedly so.
For more information on Pull Your Finger Out Productions, click here.