The Other Room, Porters, Cardiff
Tue 13 Feb-Sat 3 Mar
Kicking off The Other Room’s spring 2018 programme, A Number is a choice introduction to the chosen theme of this season: Lovesick. It’s the first season for new artistic director Dan Jones, who was appointed to the position in June last year; this self-styled ‘theatre in a pub’ (the homely Porters bar, specifically) has been one of the most innovative, and critically praised, developments in recent Welsh theatre. Big shoes to fill, in other words, but Jones is set to make his mark with this triptych on the meaning of modern love.
The Welsh premiere of Caryl Churchill’s 2002 play A Number examines the familial love of a father, Bernard, and his son Michael. Unequivocal love is juxtaposed with the timeless issue of men making meaningful and honest connections with each other, with a secondary theme of cloning – Churchill envisages a time where it is possible to clone human DNA, and Bernard makes an illicit attempt to make another Michael. The two-hander, directed by Ed Madden, should prove a great vehicle for Stevie Raine and Brendan Charleson. Notably, A Number is an intentionally malleable play, with Churchill providing no stage directions and the bare minimum of detail.
This examination of love, from its science and psychology to its romance and devotion, continues to go under the microscope and onto the stage in Lovesick’s second and third offerings. Dan Jones makes his Other Room directorial debut with All But Gone, a brand new work by Matthew Trevannion; this reflection on “a life that was never lived”, triggered by a teen’s attempted burglary of a pensioner, runs from Tue 27 Mar until Sat 14 Apr. Finishing the season is Lucy Pebble’s play The Effect, from Tue 24 April to Sat 12 May. By which time The Other Room audience may think they know all there is to know about love. But if the ambition of this unique season is anything to go by, the plays on offer will open doors on chambers of the heart that will need exploring long after the curtain has closed.
Tickets: pay by donation (Tue 13 + Wed 14 Feb – preview nights); £12/£10 after. Info: 0333 6663366 / www.otherroomtheatre.com
words JOHN-PAUL DAVIES