Sheets filled with questions and boxes lay on the seats as I walked towards the raked corner of a low-lit, intimate auditorium. The stage floor was empty, apart from a pair of scripts on chairs.
This was Scratch Night 2, a brand-new type of performance introduced by Sheffield Theatres to be a collection of 4 different works of theatre in their earliest stage of being produced. Then, the usher reminded us all not to take photos and to keep our phones on silent, before climbing the stairs to sit and watch from the back.
Except, a woman in tiny glasses and a suit jacket marched on stage and called her back down. She hesitated and made her way to the opposite chair, picked up the script, and the first performance – Tiny Acts – began.
This initial surprise cemented their play and characters with heaps of realism that remained steady because of exceptional acting. It was an interview of sorts, where a senior manager was asking a front-of-house staff member at Sheffield Theatres about how well she recalled her training. Her tone, switching seamlessly between soft and sharp created hilarious pockets of unease towards this uptight, authoritative figure who has no time for young apprentices, but must play nice.
Opposite played a stuttering, rambling employee, terrified to lose her job, but unable to conceal her heavy opinions. The humour built when she was asked ridiculous questions like why she didn’t flag an audience member with chocolate sauce in her bag, which then plummeted into tension when suddenly she was interrogated on whether she knew how the protesters got in.
The next play – A Family Business – was a much rougher version that explored a drama-therapy group for people who have been laid off at Wilko, and only one person shows up. The script was densely detailed, which at times felt slightly long and lacking in movement – but that was the point of the night, to feel it out with a live audience. The actors brought it to life with comedic re-enactments of Yorkshire culture, and an unexpected explosion of conflict and plot twists.
The third performance – The Summer of Blooming Dahlias – leant on humour and heart between three young girls stressing over university and boys whilst combing hair, cosying up on a plush pink sofa in silk pyjamas. What was initially a simple concept unravelled into something much deeper as they brought up insecurities linked to being black girls – like thinking their hair looks messy when they leave it natural or irritation with others touching it, and their English teacher insisting on using insulting language when reading Of Mice and Men – parading that word around for ‘educational purposes’. This was acted-out with such breezy confidence where it could’ve become too animated, creating a giggly depiction of girlhood that felt impressively alike to exact moments I’ve experienced myself – allowing the underlying message to hit you hard.
The Scratch ended with a new musical following a child raised on a council estate by her mother, but more importantly, her grandmother. Fairy Godmother was a powerful ending to the night as writer, composer and performer Jas Nisic narrated us through the plot with stand-up style lines and beautiful musical interludes that jumped from a fast-paced yet wholesome ‘Six-esque’ songs, to a heartfelt final song that reminded me of ‘My House’ from Matilda – and even made me work to hold in tears. This convinced me of her lyrical breadth across this new musical that had the capacity already to bounce seamlessly between light-hearted political jibes, clear doses of character personality, and emotional metaphorical imagery.
This rare opportunity to witness and participate in the making of new theatre felt like stumbling upon undiscovered talent, grounded in the experimental setting alike to an A level drama class. Questionnaires emboldened the audience to later discuss these playful prototypes of dramatic ideas at length – until they were ushered away from the auditorium. I sincerely hope Open Works returns with plenty more.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Image Credits: Sheffield Theatres
