Confrontation: Charles Mnene (The Fear The Thug) and Michael Elkin (The Fight)/Picture by Mawgan Gyles
Play: Mottled Lines
Theatre: Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond
Playwright: Archie W. Maddox
Review by Veronique Christie
Inspired by last year’s summer riots the central theme of Archie W. Maddox’s debut play is about not being heard. To illustrate his point, Maddox presents five characters, each in search of an open ear, who spill out from various corners of the Orange Tree Theatre’s stage in the round. They vent, they rage and they express their frustration about why society is in the state it’s in.
They represent the people from all walks of life, some of whom took to the nation’s streets last August to vent, loot and riot. Maddox seems to believe they had no voice and Mottled Lines appears to be his attempt to give them one, and rather eloquently at that.
First to enter is The Fear The Thug (Charles Mnene) who sets the scene and represents a voice raging against “society’s” perceptions of people like him and tells us that it is a “communication issue”.
The Silver Tongue, a high-profile British politician, played by Steven Elder, insists that young people “want the reward without the struggle, but it doesn’t work that way”. He appears to have forgotten about the banks, which have come into sharp focus with Barclays and the current Libor scandal.
The Sparkle, a bright and bubbly Akiya Henry, takes us from laughter to despair as she gets caught in the middle. Henry shines and is very funny when she squeezes herself between two male audience members (one of whom is Rising Damp actor Don Warrington, Maddox’s father) to show her dilemma.
Then enters The Fight (a quite brilliant Michael Elkin). As a policeman he represents authority. Threatening and built like a brick-house, he is also surprisingly articulate and emotional. The Fight challenges our perceptions of people and what makes them tick.
Last on the stage is The Wolf Behind Kind Eyes, who Maddox claims was inspired by controversial historian David Starkey, a man of high intelligence and “controversial ideologies”. When combined with elements of Enoch Powell’s “Rivers Of Blood Speech” The Wolf is chilling.
Though intelligently written by one so young (Maddox is only 23), Mottled Lines only truly comes alive when The Fight and The Fear confront each other. They just fizz and buzz on the stage. It made me want more than just the voices, the rages and the frustrations.
Bearing in mind that Mottled Lines is Maddox’s first play, his love of words is evident, his exuberance and confidence infectious. This play is worth being shown in schools and to reach to a few more postcodes than TW9.
Still, good on Orange Tree Theatre for nurturing and encouraging new writing talent and being instrumental in bringing Mottled Lines to the stage. Despite the shortcomings, Maddox is a new writer with a bright future.
Mottled Lines runs until Saturday 14 July 2012.