REVIEW: Reboot Festival at Barons Court Theatre 5 - 9 September 2023

The Barons Court Theatre’s Reboot Festival has returned for its third instalment, showcasing a total of eighteen short plays from emerging writers over its three week run. Week one delivered the first six of these plays each night, all of which positively stood out from each other and delivered some fresh ideas across different genres.

Little Black Dress

The evening’s first offering drops us into an anxiety-filled bedroom where a young couple try to come to terms with a new revelation in their relationship. Writer, John Mabey, addresses some themes of sexual identity and takes them on a constructive journey through the eyes of his two characters. His dialogue uses some good interjections and the couples’ fights seem genuine and heartfelt.

Unfortunately the story suffers from the short length of time it has to fully develop Mabey’s ideas. The conclusions drawn at the beginning of the play are a little too convenient and the change in emotions that the character’s experience seem a little undeserved and happen too quickly. The play would certainly benefit from some extra time to explore these areas.

Just nod

Just nod, written by Anna Clart, is an intriguing two-hander where a woman tries to convince her sister, who seems to be suffering from a mental health condition, to talk to her. The setting is simple but effective with some nice touches from the outset involving a table lamp which instantly tell us what to expect from the characters before they even speak.

While both characters are on stage for the entirety of the play, the dialogue is dominated by the woman’s attempts to get a reaction from her sister. Her attempts are varied and bring elements of humour and empathy and Clart does a great job of maintaining conflict without both parties being involved. The play does take a bit of a turn towards the end as it branches off into a voiceover and some physical theatre which felt a little unnecessary and perhaps the more satisfying ending would have been before this took place.

Closing doors

One of the benefits of international writing festivals is that the themes being examined in these plays are not always so common in UK theatres. John Minigan’s Closing Doors is a prime example of this as it takes us into the US education system, specifically its role in protecting students from mass shootings. The play focuses on a school teacher who is being reprimanded by her assistant principal and friend for opening her classroom door to let a student enter during an unplanned shooting drill.

Minigan has put together a very thoughtful piece here which debates not only the logic and necessity of these rules in place but also the emotional impact they have on teachers. His balanced approach to the topic will have audience members siding with both women and potentially altering their opinion as they play unfolds. The final voiceover provides a poignant ending and closes out a very competent play.

Bound Set

Following a short interval, Stephen Dierkes’ Bound Set kicks off the second half of the evening with a much lighter contribution as a couple tied up in separate chairs, having been kidnapped, dissect their relationship and its failings. The heightened nature of the arguments and interactions allow these characters to develop quickly and the play benefits from this comic approach.

Dierkes' dialogue is profoundly witty, particularly his purposeful use of erroneous remarks which are a welcomed recurring joke. The plot is fairly simple but has enough element of mystery to keep the audience engaged. There’s even a possible breaking of the fourth wall which maybe could have been explored further as the play never really commits to the idea but this doesn't hinder the overall enjoyment of the performance.

My Ghost

The penultimate performance of the night was most definitely the darkest, My Ghost, by Nina Tolstoy, embraces a ‘Twilight Zone’ feel to a doctor’s visit to his elderly patient who believes there is a ghost in his residence. The patient is accompanied by his lackadaisical young carer who attempts to seduce the arriving doctor. The plot is fairly ambiguous and the conflicts lack a little direction but this somehow supports the eeriness of the performance.

The diversity of the characters in Tolstoy’s play is what makes it so compelling with the elder patient’s intensity distinctly contrasting with the doctor’s simple tones and the carer’s inappropriate lustfulness. With some fine tuning to the ending and perhaps a little more clarity around the characters intentions this could be a very well rounded ghost story.

The Dating Pool

Closing out the evening, Arianna Rose’s ‘The Dating Pool’ takes the award for the most inventive script as a 63 year old woman comes face to face with her younger selves at various stages in her life. As more of her previous selves show up and join the conversation it is not only the audience who learn more about this woman’s life but also them. This multidirectional passing of knowledge makes it a unique take on the life reflection story.

There are a number of other aspects of Rose’s play which make it stand out from others in its genre, particularly the enthralling examination of ignorance at each stage of life and the need to overcome it by experience. It’s an adept script which could benefit from an expanded format as the themes being explored are only touched upon.

Reboot Festival at Barons Court Theatre (week 1) 5 - 9 Sep

Box Office and line-up for all three weeks can be found here https://www.baronscourttheatre.com/

Creatives for week 1:

Bound Set by Stephen Dierkes, directed by Sebastiao Marques Lopes

Little Black Dress by John Mabey, directed by Pamela Farrugia

My Ghost by Nina Tolstoy, directed by Jagoda Kamov

Closing Doors by John Minigan, directed by Sharon Willems

The Dating Pool by Arianna Rose, directed by Hannah Gooden

Just Nod by Anna Clart, directed by Vittorio Parri

Reviewed by John Montgomery