This is Where We Get Off – East Kilbride Arts Centre
It would be easy to descend into cheap stereotypes in the story of a working class family on a council estate in the north of England, but playwrights Ingram Noble and Heather Spiden eschew this for a much more meaningful slice of life in their debut play This Is Where We Get Off.
The Moffatts don’t exactly have their troubles to seek. Head of the household Yvonne (Laura Begley) is seven months pregnant and as well as trying to make ends meet, has to hold her rag bag family together. Her husband, Phillip (Jordan Howat) is as useful as a chocolate teapot – no discernible job other than knocking back copious quantities of cheap lager and her teenage son Lip (Ben Kay) desperate to escape, has dreams of joining the army and fighting in Afghanistan. Thrown into the mix is Yvonne’s estranged mother Sylvia (Lynn Mulvenna), last seen eighteen years ago, now on the doorstep with a diagnosis of Dementia. Oh, and there’s Ronnie (Ingram Noble), the next door neighbour with sticky fingers and a side-line in selling sex toys.
So far, so familiar you might think, but thankfully no. Noble and Spiden have breathed life into characters who could have easily been caricatures. The production plays out as a series of windows on the world of the Moffatts, short scenes giving each’s story a chance to be told, to breathe, expand and interlink. The dialogue, though heightened, still stays within the bounds of realism and believability. The scenarios, though played with comedic moments, don’t stray into broad farce.
The ensemble are universally strong but most impressive are those in more minor roles: playwright Noble is a skilled actor too, his turn as naughty but nice neighbour Ronnie is a fine line between farce and funnily familiar and is played with a deft hand, never tipping into unacceptable parody. Young actor Ben Kay as son Lip, is impressive, turning in an utterly convincing and perfectly measured performance as the exasperated teen.
Instead of lazily telling another kitchen sink drama, Noble and Spiden have chosen not to consign their characters to the gutter, instead giving them dignity and hope. They treat the difficult subject of Dementia with poignancy and sensitivity (played with grace and tenderness as well as raw anger by Lynn Mulvenna).
This is an assured debut by the playwrighting duo and in combination with excellent casting, augurs well for the future for HI! Productions.
