Resource reviews: 'Originals' platform

In 2020, the world changed. With the country in lockdown and subsequent restrictions still in place thereafter, theatre had to adapt. As a way to survive (and indeed thrive), many theatre companies set up online platforms to share their work digitally. One such company was Original Theatre, whose on-demand section now includes the world premiere of rehearsed readings of Tikkun Olam by Teunkie Van Der Sluij, The Fall by Drew Hewitt, and Miles by Eilidh Nurse, each one a winner of Original Theatre Company's Originals Playwriting Award.

The three plays were chosen from hundreds of submissions entered to the theatre company's nationwide competition to discover unproduced playwrights. These were then recorded at the Riverside Studios, whom the company work in partnership with.

The set remains the same for all three of the performances, as it is advertised as ‘rehearsed-readings’. However, it is clear from the high standard of the performances that a great deal of rehearsal and preparation has taken place. The actors may be holding scripts, but they often appear to know the lines, and certainly all the stage directions and blocking. The characters are fully realised, and the film makers have plotted close ups and wider shots that make it feel totally accomplished and slick.

The actors that perform the work speak of the quality and regard for the platform. The Fall, for example, is directed by Charlotte Peters and stars (amongst others) Alex Kingston (ER, Doctor Who). The Fall initially seems to be a melodramatic play about a marriage, but it then takes a turn and we see that we are watching a play-within-a-play. Suddenly the action breaks down and wife Jan stops speaking her lines, and indeed – stops speaking at all. The action shifts, and in an attempt to diagnose her loss of speech, she begins seeing a psychiatrist. The revelations from these sessions have lasting implications for her and the entire family.

As with all the award-winners, The Fall is written with a mastery that belies the fact it is from an (until now) ‘unknown’ talent. It's well worth taking a look at what's on offer, either recreationally or for your classroom.

originaltheatreonline.com/productions/42/on-demand-originals-at-riverside-studios