I like Southwark Playhouse. It’s had a few moves over the years since it was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson but, wherever it’s based, its prices are reasonable, there’s a great atmosphere and it has given a start to productions that have gone on to West End success (the latest is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button opening in October at the Ambassadors Theatre).
Of course, not everything has been such a wild success and, because they give new and emerging artists a chance to present their work, it can be a bit hit and miss. Hits, though, definitely outnumber the misses. At heart, it’s a studio theatre with very local roots and its current home, since 2013, has been on Newington Causeway opposite the wonderful Mercato Metropolitano food market. Here, there are two theatres but now, Southwark Playhouse has a third venue nearby.
Southwark Playhouse Elephant may not have the faded charm of the old warehouse that houses their Borough theatre, but it is a purpose-built two-storey theatre with 310 seats, as shiny and new as when it opened last year.
My first visit there was to see No Love Songs, essentially a two-hander but with an on-stage musician (an invaluable Gavin Whitworth on keyboard and percussion) and plenty of music. As Jessie, John McLarnon is a struggling musician who suddenly has the opportunity of his big break in the States. The timing, though, couldn’t be worse as his partner, Lana, gives birth and becomes increasingly isolated while he’s on tour, eventually sinking into post-natal depression.
These are difficult issues at any time and they don’t naturally seem to fit well as the basis for a what is essentially gig theatre. It is surprising then how well this cast and production pull off the seemingly unlikely. The writer Laura Wilde (along with Johnny McKnight) conceived the story with her partner Kyle Falconer, singer with the band The View, based on their own struggles with parenthood.
Falconer wrote the songs (they first appeared in a solo album No Love Songs for Laura), and while here they are reprised with just a guitar (McLarnon) and Whitworth’s keyboards, they are sung with such conviction you feel swept away by their force. As Lana, Anna Russell-Martin sings her heart out, too, moving from a confident fashion student to a woman wounded with her own sense of failure as a mother and on the brink of suicide.
The play was part of the Edinburgh fringe and went on to a successful run at Dundee Rep. Directors Andrew Panton and Tashi Gore have created some blinding moments (notably Lana giving birth) and the songs couldn’t be more heart felt. There was, though, an issue with the sound. While all the songs are on mic, much of the dialogue is not and, so with the addition of pretty strong Scottish accents, dropped out at times for much of the audience. This is a technical problem and easily fixed. For the rest, it’s a piece that deals honestly with difficult subjects that are a long way from your usual gig theatre. And the music is terrific.
No Love Songs runs at Southwark Playhouse Elephant until 15th June. For more information, and for tickets, please visit www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk.
Photos by Tommy Ga Ken Wan
