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Spring Fever
Etcetera Theatre
21st May 2014

★★★☆☆

Publicity image for Spring Fever

Photography supplied by Paradigm Theatre Company

As far as the Met Office are concerned, spring officially sprang a few months ago, and the summer is very nearly upon us. Well, I'll believe it when I see it (sunny days, where have you gone?) and in the meantime, theatre company Paradigm aren't quite letting go of this year's first season either, staging a collection of short plays collectively titled Spring Fever. If you're in any doubt as to where they're going with the theme, the picture of two enthusiastic rabbits on the front of the programme should give you a steer.

The first play captures the brief perfectly. In B Spencer Evoy's Civilised Adults, an unnamed man (Paul Thirkell) and woman (Verity Marshall) dine together, and it quickly becomes obvious they haven't just met. Director Lucy Wray establishes a very charged atmosphere, with the couple displaying a nervous tension and the jokes in Evoy's dialogue deliberately weak. Thirkell and Mashall have a great chemistry, played here here for laughs, but even more humour is brought out by the woman's interactions with the confused waiter (Christian Hall). Civilised Adults is paced well, if frustratingly short. There's nothing necessarily lacking, but with it being the strongest contribution to the night, we're left wanting more regardless. Maybe spring makes us greedy.

Be Careful With Her is the most abstract play, with William Patterson's script seeing one man (Porter Flynn) fighting with another (Gavin Brockwell) over a comatose girl (Lee Lytle). Think two stags butting heads, but with a touch of poetry. Although there are some chuckles to be had, the connection between the three individuals is never really clarified, which makes it difficult to fully engage with the piece.

More successful is We're Coming, in which fledgling couple Sophie (Helen Jessica Liggat) and Carl (Joe Johnsey) try to define their relationship. Although Sophie comes across as easy-going, there's an underlying panic which pushes her into playing games. Mike Carter's dialogue is very natural, as is the rapport between Liggat and Johnsey. Director Madeline Moore brings out the warmth of Carter's script, with the whole piece very believable right up to the conclusion. The ending feels somewhat hurried, but with each show only allocated 15 minutes, it feels like Carter has more to say, and could have gone further with the piece if given the time slot for it.

Sarah Pitard's 3x's the Charm [sic] closes the night. Highly strung Meghan (Cassandra Bond) meets socially inept James (Jonathan West) for a blind date, and in Groundhog Day style, it keeps repeating itself, subtly changing each time. Director Cherise Silvestri signals the end of each date with a shift in lighting, which is simple but effective. West delivers yet another awkward performance (this seemingly being the most common effect of Spring Fever). With the date repeated so many times, it's fortunate that we enjoy spending time with Meghan and James while they talk at cross purposes. It's a good choice of play to end the proceedings.

Only two members of Paradigm are actually involved in this production, but the other names are familiar, with many being part of the established short play circuit in London. It's a shame that one play seems to have been cut from Spring Fever at the last minute, but the four remaining pieces do link together into one cohesive production with a clear common theme. It's a solid collective project. As always, when Paradigm set out to champion new writing, the result is very much worth seeing.

Spring Fever opened on 20th May and runs until 25th May 2014 at the Etcetera Theatre.

Nearest tube station: Camden Town (Northern)



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