Park Theatre has proved itself an exceedingly productive nursery for developing new work during its first 9 years and despite the hiatus of lockdown, Finsbury Park’s creative theatrical hub continues to encourage, support and develop the output of both those in the spotlight and other creative talents behind the scenes.Bill Rosenfield’s Another America is something of a rights of passage yarn revealed through the experiences and exploits of a young bicycling trio (Dan Austin, with his younger brother Jared and best friend Clint Ewell) who throw caution to the wind and embark on a road trip pilgrimage from Venice California to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield Massachusetts. Traversing America, they pass through towns and states economically and ideologically polarised by recent events and find themselves spurred onward by the mantras, musings and advice of the 36 varied individuals they encounter along the way (who are also played with considerable aplomb by our three actors Marco Young, Rosanna Suppa and Jacob Lovick). In turn, each quirky character is encouraged to inscribe the basketball which the boys carry with them (and which was presented by Salt Lake City’s Utah Jazz team) with their personal words of wisdom like “Ride ‘til you find what you’re looking for” and other pithy profundities, before it is bequeathed to the venerable institution at their final destination.
Director Joseph Winters has eschewed the fripperies of fussy sets, props and costumes in favour of pared-down simplicity, enabling him to focus on the actors’ positioning and seamless interplay to create a piece of entertaining storytelling in which the trio perform with oodles of confidence and deliver a play of considerable substance, nuance and wry humour. It may be a low budget effort, but aside from one slight lull in proceedings, the journey is realised remarkably effectively.
