REVIEW THEATRE | "SEMINAR"

Newcastle theatre is seriously on fire at the moment - I’ve just got to say it - & somewhere up at the top of this mixedmetaphor of flame sit Stooged Theatre& director John Wood.

This was a fantastic piece of theatre,yet another under the Stooged belt &also another notch for John.

The play itself is just a great script & this ensemble played it so well. Great justice was given.

The play’s suite of intense, challenging(yet somehow loveable all-inall)characters were all - withoutexception - played with great charisma& craft, drawing the audiencedeeply into a delicious script & asexy, funny & rewarding storyline.

Carl Caulfield is a frik’n powerhouse throwing his clearly well honed acting chops around with such gusto it is graceful - even in the meanest moments of his massive character,Leonard (& he is mean!) but it is fair to say also that each & every member of the cast holds their own even against his most potent tirades.

Carl Young & Justin Smith both very cleverly capture some very subtle nuances of their characters which bring a deeper life to the piece as a whole & Rachael Rose Sales & Emily Dale add a further layer of charm & sexiness while also both carrying layered & complex characters.

This play asks for a lot from its players& this cast, in my humble opinion, did not drop a beat. They even played the whole thing in accents with not even a glimpse of faultering.

John Wood as director has surprised & impressed me again & again withthe shows he has worked on of late. He seems to have a distinct flavour & feel which plays in the undercurrent of whatever he works on & appears to be very adept at locating the deeper details of individual characters & a script as a whole. In this case this accolade must also be shared by assistant director James Chapman.

One of the winners of our ticket giveaways said, “I’d rather see this again than watch the idiot box at home full of brain numbing reality shows and advertisements. For me, a refreshing interest in local theatre production has arrived ...” to this i say; yes, yes!

While watching the play I found myself intermittently plan-tasising (just made that up) about hollering out in the very streets after the show, “Turn off your TVs, you fools! Get out & see some theatre - see this theatre! See. this. show!”

Local theatre is flourishing at the moment. After seeing this show I’d even say it has just taken another step up.

Congrats to all involved.

(NB. I didn't manage to get a snap so i snaffled this one from the socials. CREDITS: Photography by Glen Waterhouse, 17 Minutes To Midnight, editing by Joseph Issa.)