Pink Mist - A Quick Review

Pink Mist by Owen Sheers – A QUICK REVIEW

 Photography by Mark Douet

“Who wants to play war?”

02/02/2017
Sherman Theatre

Pink Mist, inspired by numerous interviews with British soldiers, tells the story of three friends who all experience a different aspect of the Afganistan war and the family and friends that suffer as a result of these stories.

Before I begin I should probably state that my opinion may be slightly biased when it comes to Pink Mist for an accumulation of reasons. 

Firstly, I’m a huge fan of Owen Sheers. After studying him for my English Literature AS exams (which I’m sure a few of you can relate to) and meeting him as part of the Hay Festival’s Beacons Project (of which he’s an alumnus); I can conclude that he’s a very down-to-earth, descriptively gifted playwright and poet. 

Secondly, Pink Mist was performed in a Frantic Assembly style, and as someone who danced for 14 years and sees the emotional value of movement in relation to performance, I love Frantic Assembly. I took elements of it for my year 11 GCSE prac and it was the entire style of my year 12 prac, so to say I was excited to watch Pink Mist is an understatement. Pink Mist was originally written for radio performance, so it was really exciting to see how they implemented movement and actual physical performance.

Also, I apologise in advance for how vague I might be with regards to the plot – it’s just me trying to convince you to read the play.

Before the play had even begun I was captivated. On the stage there was only a wheelchair and a bench, it sparked my curiosity and I overheard many audience members comment on the very openness and bareness of the stage. It made sense when considering the Frantic Assembly style of course, but it was effective in leaving the canvas blank and having only a vague idea of what we were about to watch. Both the bench and the wheelchair were used almost like an extension of characters throughout the play. The bench gave the option of levels to give variety to the otherwise empty stage and the wheelchair in relation to movement only added to the variety of movements throughout the piece. It’s interesting to note how when the youngest soldier uses the wheelchair he’s obviously unable to get out of it and the contrast between the pretty consistent movement and then the stillness and stiffness that comes with being a wheelchair user was made extremely clear and added more depth to that raw emotion.

One of the most noteworthy parts of the play was the nightclub scene. One of the discharged soldiers found solace in music and clubbing. The sound by Jon Nicholls was delicate here, the combination of this sound, slow-motion dancing movements surrounding the present narrator and slow-motion walking from said narrator really emphasised the feeling of a club (not that I go to many to be fair). It was a change from the very heavy and intense theme of war and was really pleasant to watch for aesthetic reasons. It was something that inspired me to use a similar technique in my practical exam – which is now what I consider to be my favourite part of the exam.

The ending was powerful. The combination of low light, sharp sound and quick movement really hit home the tragedy that is war and how it affects numerous people in dissimilar ways. Arthur, Taff and Hads all performed their own stories in such an emotive way it was difficult to leave the theatre without questioning the effects of war in the modern day. The movement was only a catalyst for the messages and emotions that Owen Sheers successfully creates and I’m pretty sure I didn’t shut up about how brilliant it was for a solid week afterwards. It pushed on feelings that I don’t typically feel on a day-to-day basis which only added to how in awe I was of this play.

If you have any interest in literature or drama then I highly recommend you read this play! I watched it so long ago but I still remember it so vividly. The cast and crew really outdid themselves.

Here a few of my fellow thespians' opinions on Pink Mist:

"Really imaginative and the story was acted out really well, meaning it was easy and clear to follow." - Henry Marsden

 "Smart staging. Great use of lighting and SFX." - Sam Williams

Photography by Mark Douet

Credits to the Creative Team
Writer Owen Sheers
Directors John Retallack and George Mann
Designer Emma Cains
Lighting Designer Peter HarrisonComposer & Sound Designer Jon Nicholls 
Cast Peter Edwards, Rebecca Hamilton, Rebecca Killick, Dan Krikler, Zara Ramm and Alex Stedman

Sweet - A Sonnet

 

Sweet

 

She wants to set her toffee mind at ease

and though she tries to find a solution,

the wooden floor is hard against her knees.

Saving her thoughts for redistribution,

throwing sanity into sugar bags.

It's so sweet that it gives her cavities,

all cluttered and sickly. So she defrags

the constant aggression of gravity,

the confusion and the trepidation.

"You don't eat anything 'cept candy canes..."

Was that a question or allegation?

Doubt pulsing through her veins and it remains

'til she figures out it's all in her head

which is weaved together, with nylon thread.

 

 

 

This sonnet took me forever to write because I tried writing a Shakespearean style sonnet (ABABCDCDEFEFGG rhyme scheme), whilst staying true to Iambic Pentameter (10 syllables in each sentence, 5 stressed and 5 unstressed). Although sonnets are one of my favourite forms of poetry to both read and write, I never actually realised how much work it takes to stick so closely to a specific amount of syllables for each sentence (and it's surprising with how many words sound like they could have more than one syllable but actually don't).

This was just a little poem about mental health so I could become accustomed to this style of poetry. You may not read in connection with mental health which is completely fine - if you do have any other interpretations or can see where I've attempted to portray this pretty personal theme let me know!