Resource Reviews: Into the Night on Original Theatre Online

Saturday 19 December 2021 was the 40th anniversary of the loss of the Penlee lifeboat ‘Solomon Browne’, which was launched in hurricane conditions to go to the aid of a coaster which was being swept towards the southern coast of Cornwall.

Into the Night by Frazer Flintham is the stage adaptation of a book about the heroic but ultimately tragic attempted rescue; and was due to be performed and live-streamed by the Original Theatre Company on the night of Saturday 18 December. Sadly, falling as it did during a significant wave of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, this performance was in the end cancelled – which is significant because this streamed run, available until the end of August 2022, is actually a film of the company's dress rehearsal.

The story has been well adapted to a theatrical setting – the ensemble cast narrate large sections of it straight down the camera lens, while also inhabiting the key characters. It feels very much like the adaptation of a book, because of all the narration, and might in fact have benefitted from a little less narration and a little more action – since the production definitely becomes more engaging as the stakes are raised and the physical performances become more dramatic, when the boat is out at sea in the second half of the play.

There is lots to inspire here in terms of ensemble storytelling, and also a great deal from a design perspective to spark students’ imaginations. A back projection is used to great effect (pictured) to move the action out to sea, and a pub, a cosy home, the coastguard's station, the decks of two ships and even the inside of a helicopter are created very effectively in what seems to be relatively little space.

Sadly, however, the production does suffer a little for having been a filmed dress rehearsal, as there are noticeable moments of confusion over lines and camera-work, as we see both cast and cameraman adapting to a nerve-wrackingly new medium.

I would have liked to have seen this production live, as it's a moving story, well-suited to Original Theatre's engaging style of theatre. It is, though, admirable that the company found a way to bring it to audiences when live performance wasn't an option.

Into the Night is available to buy and stream until 31 August 2022, from https://originaltheatreonline.com/productions/33/into-the-night-on-demand