N2P:
'Nothing to Perform' was the name of our first show and subsequently became the name of our
ensemble.
Davey, Andrew and Tom are three caretakers from the north-east of England.
They wrote, rehearsed and produced a play which no one will ever see.
'Nothing to Perform' is the funny, heart-warming and brutally honest story of why.
'nothing to perform'
@ Cockpit Theatre 2017
“a funny, blunt and unpredictable piece
”
“★★★★★”
“‘Nothing to Perform’ has wit and compassion … It’s engaging and charming and will read beautifully.”
“Howland is relaxed, charming and has a natural ability to command attention on stage.”
CAMDEN FRINGE 2017 CAST
Davey / Scott Howland
Andrew/ Jace Moody
Tom / Mark Niel
Chris + Fletcher / Andy Newton-Lee
Man / Garry Hayden
Julie / Harriet Taylor
'nothing to perform'
@ RADA STUDIOS 2017
'Nothing to Perform' receives ★★★★★
“Nothing To Perform” kicked off with an apologetic announcement – unfortunately, the performance would have to be cancelled. There was a colossal pause as the stage was left empty. Everyone in the audience was, luckily, far too English to leave immediately, and when one brave couple attempted to take the plunge, the cast entered and the play began – a fly-on-the-wall story of three very different men who work as maintenance supervisors in a performing arts university, and one’s desire to escape his seemingly mundane future by writing a play. The awkward, jarring opening offered a wonderful underlying tension, as we knew the fate of their hard work from the outset.
Scott Howland’s script is excellently crafted. The crassly funny, and subtly touching naturalism of the trio plays like clockwork, which is lifted beautifully by the understated performances of himself, Jace Moody and Mark Niel.
However, their conviction was only lost when tension ran high and the stakes were raised, as the actors were prone to losing control.Things are darkly twisted when the likeably-unlikable Davey is shown to be deep in the job application process. Harriet Taylor’s direction here is innovative and brave, creating a Faustus-like demon out of the interviewer, twisting the loaded, formal language we all know of career-seeking emails into a strangely archaic scripture. Garry Hayden lights this concept on fire with a powerful, unflinching performance, contorting and sniggering hellishly, concluding with a beautiful weakening when Davey finally holds his own.
“Nothing to Perform” was a rare insight into the previously unexamined, with moments of startling honestly, reluctant hilarity and bursts of the unexpected.
ALICE FLYNN, The Open Door
