CHATROOM - A One Act Play
to
31 March 2021
Altrincham Garrick Playhouse are proud supporters of
PAPYRUS with our production of Chatroom
Performed by The Garrick Ensemble; a company of 18 - 30 year old aspiring actors from Greater Manchester and Cheshire who perform one production each year as part of the Altrincham Garrick Playhouse Main House Season. The Garrick Ensemble aims to make theatre that is fresh, innovative and exciting. See the very best of local, up and coming talent before they move forward in the next stages of their careers in the Arts.
**This play contains strong language and deals with topics including depression and suicide.** Running Time: Approx. 75 Minutes (No Interval) This amateur production of “Chatroom” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd. www.concordtheatricals.co.uk Download the programme for the week's performance.StageStruck - Rick Bowen
I STILL haven’t worked it out.
Whenever I go to review a production of a play or a show with a small audience it invariably falls into the outstanding category.
Chatroom is no exception.
For me, live theatre and TV drama is always at its best when shining a light on difficult issues and dragging the audience or the viewer into a darker world, a world you’re relieved to escape when you leave the theatre or turn off the TV.
However shocked you feel it can also be an enlightening experience as this evening in the company of the Internet generation is.
It’s oh so tempting to envy teenagers as they’re largely free of responsibilities and live to just enjoy themselves.
That’s a myth of course. Just ask Jim, the central character in Enda Walsh’s deeply unsettling but ultimately hopeful play.
Pining for a dad who suddenly and mysteriously went AWOL and nursing the psychological and physical scars of a difficult home life, this troubled teen is contemplating suicide.
Walsh’s brilliant script doesn’t dilute the difficult nature of this difficult topic while at the same time refusing to sensationalise it.
Rather he tells this absorbing tale with quiet compassion and you find yourself caring deeply about Jim, forever the outcast..
A young and dynamic cast more than do justice to this exceptional piece of work, expertly brought to the stage by Joe Meighan, the Garrick’s young and dynamic artistic director.
Highly recommended.
Star rating -****