Laura Evelyn, James Westphal, Royce Cronin in The Band Back Together at Arcola Theatre. Credit Kate Hockenhull photographyTen years on, and whilst this vehicle may not hit the heady heights of that first play, Norris has returned to the familiar turf of Salisbury, where three former band members are meeting to rehearse numbers for a reunion charity gig — which like the play itself, may or may not attract an audience — in the aftermath of the notorious Novichok attack.
During their awkward reacquaintance at a rehearsal space, Joe, Ross and Ellie (Royce Cronin, James Westphal and Laura Evelyn) dredge-up and skirt around their former romantic interconnectedness as they reveal that each has moved on and experienced lives which have changed them to varying degrees. This occasionally amusing scenario feels distinctly fabricated and unlikely, yet the concept whilst not especially riveting, noteworthy or original, has strength in the inherent stiltedness and the ways in which the characters are left to fill the awkward silences. Revelations about one individual’s marriage, another’s abortion and current IVF treatment and disparities in their lifestyles since the band split, add to the disconnect which time has naturally wrought on the trio.
Early in the piece, the writer deploys banalities of modern life (such as take-away coffee) to trigger opportunities for the performers to reconnect and begin the process of dredging for those long forgotten familiarities. As a device, it smacks of Jack Thorne, but here the outcome is more a case of turf-cutting rather than a deep and meaningful excavation. In such a small space (and with a simple, exposed band set-up serving in place of a set), each raised eyebrow and grimace, twitch and affected gesture becomes magnified to the levels of a television commercial, which is somewhat distracting and lacks truth. When they do arrive however, the previously unrehearsed songs inferred in the production’s title, are sufficiently quirky and (s)punky to bolster an otherwise mediocre effort. The best of these is a solo performed by Royce Cronin which on press night sounded remarkably like a ballad version of The Cure’s “In Between Days”.
As a footnote, this reviewer looks forward to Norris tackling meatier subjects like the very human reactions to the climate crisis, which his recent experience as a Green Party candidate for the Salisbury constituency at the General Election will surely inform with weight, substance, and the rarely heard voices of that beautiful rural setting.
This production of THE BAND BACK TOGETHER has been visiting venues in England and Wales and lands at the Arcola for a short run until the end of September.
