June 2004
Angels Among The Trees - review
Director: Giles
Croft
Writer: Jonathan Holloway
Cast: Tony Bell, Emilio Doorgasingh, Elaine Donnelly, Nicola
Harrison, Caroline Lennon, Dominic Letts, Stephen Lucas, Jonathan
Melia, Jonathan Melia
Venue: Nottingham Playhouse
Dates: Saturday, 5th - Saturday, 19th June 2004
Tickets: £5 - £19
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| Angels Among The Trees |
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This
tragic true story in all its grizzly horror manages
to make us question our own humanity.
Review by Anna Cookson
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In
1846 America, the way to fame and fortune was not Big Brother or American
Idol, it was to go West. To find California: The Promised Land.
Thousands trooped across the Plains of America
that year, among them the so-called Donner Party. Angles Among the
Trees relates their tragic history in all its grizzly horror.
Not for the faint hearted, it is a production
about desperation in the face of snow, no food, human error and yet
more snow.
Director Giles Croft distils an epic journey
of when the American Dream becomes a nightmare. And yes, they do end
up eating each other.
We’re led through a series of doom-laden events to a catastrophy
that still makes me shiver when I think about it.
Historically dense, the play isn’t helped
by the schizophrenia among the cast – there are just nine actors
for 26 roles. But what we lack in detail we gain in effect.
Scenery and lighting combine to create not just a stage set but a
landscape. Vast planes transform into an arctic wilderness with real(ish)
snow and even, beneath the stage, the hellish cabins of hunger.
The stunning panoramas tell a monologue all
of their own and juxtapose the beautiful with the revolting, shocking
events on stage.
But this play does more than shock, and whilst
I will, no doubt, be having nightmares for weeks, it is also a play
about decisions, about historical truths and, the ambiguous ‘human
condition.’
Whilst reviling at the multiple forms of greed
depicted on the stage and whilst the scenery conjures a place far
beyond the plush blue seats of the Playhouse, we cannot truly distance
ourselves from the behaviour we see.
When people do things that seem to defy human nature we can but question
our own humanity.
Scores : 4/5
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the audience... |
Magnificent staging but too few actors playing too many roles.
I ended up not knowing who was who. This left me with no real
connection with, or empathy for, any particular character. 
Mike Young |
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The story was thought provoking but would have suited a film
better.
Sarah Julian |
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While keeping my attention and interest thanks to some good
acting and a 'pandora's box' of a stage, the lack of any real
lead character prevented me feeling much sympathy for the pioneers'
plight.
Dave Jackson |
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I must admit to getting pretty lost as one bloke in a beard
became another bloke in a beard.
Dan Sinclair |
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Hugely ambitious and challenging, full of surprises.
I wish it'd been a little cooler in the stalls!
Neil Heath |
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