Everything about the pre-show experience for Beats is hipster. On entry I was given the ‘Beats EP’ burnt on to a CD, the people behind the polaroid photo covered ticket desk were wearing sunglasses indoors, and the show opened 20 minutes late leaving me wondering if it was just too cool to start on time. However when it did eventually begin the themes of mental disorder, familial tension and self-worth in this piece of new writing came into focus.
There is a great amount of attention to detail in this production. This is reflected both in the realism of Emily Warren’s script, the subtleties of emotion conveyed in the majority of the actors’ performances, and above all, the set. Whilst this created a believable and interesting performance space, the amount of different props meant that the scene changes, which were far too regular, went on for too long. In one instance the set changes were longer than the scene into and from which they were transitioning. This broke up the flow of the narrative and made it difficult for the script to achieve its full emotional impact, regardless of how well it was acted. A lack of consistency between the scene changes – some were accompanied by music whilst others were undertaken in complete silence – only emphasised this.
Phoebe Hames performance as Cecelia really was the highlight of this production. Her acting was of a consistently outstanding quality as she weaved her way through an array of emotions, moving swiftly from a performance that was utterly hilarious to one that was incredibly moving. The performances of Lauren Magee as Jean and Nick Fanthorpe as Oscar were also commendable, with both, for the most part, effectively portraying the difficult subject matter of the play. I was a little confused by the role of Oscar due to a slightly bewildering plot twist at the end. However, this is a problem with the script, not the acting ability of the cast. The supporting characters of Martha and Chris were less convincing. The artistic lothario character of Chris, played by Douglas Grant, was too much a parody of a well-known British rom-com actor and Oxford alumnus who shares the same surname, which seemed out of place against the performances of the rest of the cast.
One cannot question the dedication of the team who have worked on Beats. This is certainly more of a project than simply a play, with great care having been taken over the short films, music and art work that accompanies this production. This is a good piece of new writing, brought to life by good, and some excellent, performances. If you have the time, I would recommend seeing Beats, but at the very least I would urge everyone to explore the film making, composition and other artistic processes that have been an integral part of this project.
THREE STARS
