Review: AAAAA (FiveA)/PROFORCA THEATRE COMPANY/Lion & Unicorn Theatre 18 - 29 May 2021
Kate Pettigrew • May 21, 2021
Well, the good news is, we’re back. After 14 months of no theatre, I went skippety, skip, and with a song in my heart, off to my first live show since lockdown. AAAAA (FiveA) is a stunning production carried by Daniel Rainford but the bad news is I am not allowed to tell you much about it. That’s because Proforca, the Lion & Unicorn’s resident theatre company, said it wanted to re-capture the mystery, tension and anticipation of the return of live fringe theatre, by giving no details about the production.
Artistic director David Brady has been dropping a few clues on social media about the first show of reopening but I went into the theatre (masked) and fairly ignorant. The audience all received an envelope that they were told not to read until after the performance. The note inside was about spoilers. DO NOT GIVE ANYTHING AWAY. Well, I won’t.
All I will say is that the play starts with a young man standing in front of graffitied walls trying to find out why he is there and who he is. Are there clues to his predicament in the graffiti? There are leaves on the floor, references to Blake’s Songs of Innocence, about a boy lost in a wood, and also the works of M. Night Shyamalan.
Rainford gives a tour-de-force hour-long performance in this gradually unfolding mystery. The tight script is directed with pace as Rainford nails his character’s emotions ranging from puzzlement, exploration, realisation and…. well. He is a slim figure showing vulnerability and strength with nods to love, paper aeroplanes and a classic line about seagulls that had the audience laughing. The lighting and sound are strong, adding to the character’s emotional journey.
The play promises to be different every night and, while I am privy to the interesting reason why that will be, I’m afraid I can’t tell you. You’d better get a ticket.
Images: Daniel Rainford (Photo credit Ross Kernahan) Hand (Photo Credit Proforca)
AAAAA (FiveA)
PROFORCA THEATRE COMPANY
WRITTEN BY: David Brady, Jack Albert Cook, Gabrielle Nellis-Pain & Kim Scopes
DIRECTED BY: Jess Barton & David Brady
CASTING: Daniel Rainford
Reviewer Kate Pettigrew is a Fleet Street journalist and playwright
We are very proud to announce that LONDON PUB THEATRES MAGAZINE is now an OFFIE AWARD WINNING publication
A ONEOFF Special Award has been awarded to London Pub Theatres Magazine and Editor Heather Jeffery for providing a vital forum for highlighting the excellent work that happens in rooms in pubs, with sensitive editing, and an acute sense of the importance of tiny fringe venues to the health and development of British Theatre