by Sofie Fowler.
North West playwright Cathy Crabb’s The Roots of Love was performed at The Continental (www.newcontinental.net ) as part of the Preston Tringe festival, a week long selection of theatre, comedy and live literature across various venues in the city.
The Roots of Love is the story of Les, a man who lost his young son, and Fran, the boy’s childhood friend. Exploring the nature of their relationship and the residing guilt they both hold, the play delves deeply into the essence of each characters’ nature.
Cathy based the play on ‘What Becomes of the Broken Hearted’ by Jimmy Ruffin, drawing on the emotional nature of the song. Her writing is skillful, drawing the story out of the two men in a well paced, heart wrenching style. She employs witty fast paced activity and also moments of silence to great effect, combining the dramatic highs and lows effortlessly.
Simply set in one room with a sofa and chair, the play had an intimate and personal feel. The staging was low-key and as such, was not a distraction from the words spoken by the actors. The realistic setting, coupled with the soft lighting, gave the impression of being in someone’s living room listening in on a private conversation.
The best feature of this play was Cathy’s perfectly crafted dialogue. The emotion of the two men is displayed effortlessly through their conversation, key elements revealed through simple phrases. Joe O’Byrne who plays the heart broken father Len, and Lee Antley, who plays the childhood friend Fran, both deserved the standing ovation the performance received. Not only was their delivery flawless, but it was strengthened by their movement. Their gestures and body language were naturalistic, adding further to the intimate feel of the piece.
Joe has a string of successes under his belt, playing Frank Morgan in the film Diary of a Bad Lad, the North West feature film he co wrote which is on general release this year. His other feature, Looking for Lucky, in which he stars, is enjoying cult success this year and is a testimony to the talent and commitment of those working in independent film in the North West. He is also a playwright and his play The Bench, one in a series of plays about the fictional town Paradise Heights, has enjoyed packed houses at The Library Theatre, Studio Salford, The Dance House and most recently Salford Arts Theatre.
Lee Antley, who has worked extensively with the other three in the team for some time now, received rave reviews when he took on many roles in Nico Icon, Stella Grundy’s critically acclaimed piece on Nico. ‘Fran is an amazing role for an actor’ says Lee, ‘the journey allows you to exercise your emotional muscles, it’s a very passionate role, a gift for an actor. The script is by turns drily witty, tender, compassionate, and emotionally brutal.‘
The Roots of Love was directed by Neil Bell, who is a well known actor in his own right, and has starred in such modern cult classics as ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ and ‘Ideal’, is also well known for his directing talent, with an MEN award nomination for his play 36 Hours (also written by Bell) in which he starred as the poet John Cooper Clarke.
The Continental (www.newcontinental.net )
Review by Sofie Fowler (www.sofiefowler.com )