The Hindsight Saga
And the best contender is..."
by Alex Malgua for remotegoat on 20/10/09
"The competition has been flying high at this year's Off Cut Festival. 24 plays showcased at the Old Red Lion are battling through over two weeks to get into the final 8, with only one winner to claim the one week theatre production prize produced by In Company. With complimentary awards to recognize the best director, company of actors and audience-pleaser of the series, the Off Cut Festival can easily be seen as something more than your public theatrical game practitioners would enter for exposure's sake.
The pressure is definitely on… the audience's shoulders for the first round of the competition. A different group for a different crowd; at the end of each night the public is asked to vote for their top 3 out of the 6 contenders they've seen.
So there I was, sealing the destiny of some hopefuls from Group 3 on a rainy-turned-blue-grey Sunday afternoon. More easily said than done! In their own way, they all had a certain appeal: 'Stone Crossing' was amusing, 'The Perfect Girl' surprisingly poetic, 'Spud and Moose' tender but melancholic while 'Something Came Out' and 'Human By Default' felt slightly enigmatic. 'The Hindsight Saga' though clearly stood out. A risky affair to cast three actors as different in shape and style as Rostance, Carter and Last to play the sole character and the two sides of his conscience, but Jemma Gross's gamble clearly paid off. She managed to bring out some chemistry between these three making this psychological triangle utterly funny and totally credible.
This heat having shown some great promises, the grand finale is certainly set to deliver a night high in dramas, good entertainment and discoveries of the next Nigel Douglas or Moira Buffini. Such a cleverer alternative to the unstoppable X-factor!"
Event Venues & Times
finishedOld Red Lion | 418 St John Street, London, EC1V 4NJ
Paul Hills - Director of Do Elephants Pray and Boston Kickout
