Friday, January 15, 2010

PLAY: THE SEED

LOCATION: Civic Theatre, Newcastle

DATE: Saturday 18 April, 2009

WITH: Mary

The Seed was Mary's choice and she convinced me to come along, and I am so glad that I did. This was extraordinary and powerful. A young girl and her father travel to his homeland of Ireland to visit his father. The father is a Vietnam vet, the grandfather an old toughie who may or may not have worked with the IRA and the daughter has serious issues of her own which unravel as the play continues. Each one of these actors were rounded, brilliant and touching. You found yourself laughing one minute and bawling the next. The actress playing the daughter wrote the play and it is semi-autobiographical. How she manages performance after performance is nothing short of amazing. Mary really related to the "Irishness" of the story, but you did not have to be Irish to enjoy it. This was truly powerful and one of the best plays I have seen in a long, long time.

2 comments:

Mary said...

This was an amazing story & incredibly strong performances. Simple, yet striking set design, allowed the powerful words & subtle acting to shine. If you can see this with the playwright in the lead - then do, but I believe the play would work well with any strong cast.

Cathy said...

Yeah, it was great material, she was amazing, to write the words and then perform them....was awe inspiring to watch.