THEATRE REVIEW: Absurd Person Singular ★★★

Absurd Person Singular
Warwick Arts Centre
Thursday 10th November

The drama society at Warwick University are a very special collective; from all the productions I have seen on theirs, they have been innovative and very creative, always choosing the best of theatre to present, and Absurd Person Singular continues in this trend in every aspect!

The performances given from the whole cast are brilliant, really looking into their lines and giving us an interesting look into the characters they are portraying. The characters are those that you can find very relatable in friends we may know. Bethan Pitts and Sean O'Driscoll are captivating to watch on stage as Jane and Sidney Hopcroft, whereas Rosie Shufflebotham is I believe the highlight of the evening as Eva Jackson,  especially in the productions act where we are in the kitchen of the Jackson's for a Christmas party, which is the second of three consecutive bashes that we see during the production.

The way she presents the addictive antidepressant in this segment real makes Rosie a true credit to the whole production, portraying Eva with such conviction, as well as the rest of the cast around her, especially from Joe Taylor, who plays Eva's argumentative, unsympathetic husband. Tom Hammond and Louise Fox complete the three couple pairings as Ronald and Marion Brewster-Wright, and even though they have the least stage time out of the three couples, their performances are exquisite and really show such devotion and charisma in their portrayals.

The authenticity in the production through the costume and set is also a real highlight to this production, and it is amazing to see the stage hands between the switchover of houses put so much professionalism in these switches, and favourably earning themselves a round of applause from the audience from doing so. It really just cements how closely WUDS work together to all bring a brilliant production to life on stage, whether that may be from on stage with the realistic and superb performances from all the cast paired incredibly well together, or to the creative geniuses behind the scenes working as a solid team to bring such a wonderful production on stage.

Overall, Absurd Person Singular continues to prove how spectacular Warwick Drama Society are as a company, which is why I will continue to return for more, and leaving me very excited to see what they produce next!