At This Stage by Queen Mary Theatre Company.

The new play is about to start rehearsals in the play At This Stage. It is dying and nobody wants to continue with it. However, the producer has other ideas and the actors are in for a surprise.

The director kidnaps and traps his cast of four in a basement. He forces them to rehearse and continue the preparations in order for this play to continue. Bringing them minimal food and leaving five water bottles scattered around where one contains poison as the there the only source of water. Do they dare drink one to find out if it’s a bluff or not?

As the cast fight for their lives and fearing what he will do next they listen and go along with him in the hope that they will regain their freedom.

The play has potential and the storyline is quite interesting as the five egos of the characters in the enclosed space battle against each other at times. The script itself felt unfinished in places and following the storyline could be problematic in places. One extremely good scene although macabre is the stabbing and the two cast members certainly make it believable and the blood is a great finishing touch.

Sadly the loud noise from the air-con units was overshadowing the final audio section of the play and I wasn’t able to hear the conclusion or the autobiographical part from the actors themselves.

Three Stars

Writer/Director Megan Young

Stage Manager Roma Radford

Cast

Connor McPhee

Lewis Grimshaw

Lizzi Egan

Bridget Russon

Andrei Cotocu

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/at-this-stage