Night Out At: Blackridge
Blackridge Hope Street Theatre, Friday 15th March 2024.
"A Theatrical mix of BBC Drama Time and old-school Brookside."
This show was the second instalment of the lives of young offenders and their relationship with their judicial "in locus parentis." Again, as I mentioned about the last show, I can easily see this show doing the rounds in schools and colleges as it has some important messages to impart.
A lovely touch before the show started was the trigger warning due to the triggering content of the show, and telephone numbers of the appropriate agencies were mentioned in the program, which was a thoughtful touch.
The show was a quick-paced, dramatic, darkly comedic, and heart-rendingly sad tale with photofit pictures of all characters adorning the theatre.
There was great use of the Theatre space from the beginning, which felt very immersive. There were lots of deftly timed scene changes and some props having several uses, with scenes blending together.
It was worthy of a very dramatic soap opera, with lots of little twists and turns, subplots, and some you could see coming but were very satisfying to see when they did happen. There were even some baddies added to the mix, worthy of a Shakespearian tragedy. It was fabulous to see some really strong female characters take the lead and assume top positions. Characters you just love to hate, and some really stand out and uniquely individual character work despite the large cast of 19. The formula easily lends itself to TV drama.
We often, as an audience, get updates on "the story so far," including what happened to staff at the old unit. Some of them were a little far-fetched but certainly sent the message that there could indeed be karma at work. So, one doesn’t need to have necessarily watched Warnock (the first Young Offenders Institute that got burned down). There were lots of little motifs, similarities, and links to the last show, and some of the characters were in Blackridge from Warnock played by the same Actors. At one point, an official became an inmate due to their skullduggery, which was a great touch.
There was no time to be bored. Some of the music wasn’t in some of the scene changeovers or over scenes, and I wasn’t quite sure why that was, nor was I sure why DR Ramsey changed his accent partway through. I have to say I wasn’t entirely convinced by the liaison with the pregnant top dog Spider (Ramsey secretly as the father) and himself and the cheesy breakup music was a bit cringy. I feel more could have been made with this dynamic. It was a creepy liaison. And there was a bit of mumbling going on by some of the cast, but that’s easily rectified.
The character of Tyrus tore at my heartstrings. An inmate with learning disabilities and a vicious temper, played to perfection by Hannah Price.
The Director and Writer Barry Levy did highlight to The Creative Wire that they are big fans of Soap Operas, which I did see through the piece. It does lend itself perfectly to the genre, as you can well imagine there are lots of twists and turns within a young offenders unit.
As in the case of Warnock, we as an audience see that:
Common humanity prevails (the arch villain of the piece Spider, played beautifully by Abi Tyrer, develops a beautiful bond with Tyrus played very sensitively by Hannah Price).
Everyone deserves a chance. Even the most vicious and unreachable are worthy of salvation and often surprise us. Really powerful messages for society and that the authority figures are sometimes clueless or corrupt or sometimes both.
This Theatre Company works very much as a team, and it shows. I see this keenly, and it warms my heart that this Company proves that goodness prevails on the Liverpool Theatre scene and long may it continue. The cast enjoyed the experience, and there was so much fizz and energy from them, and it was infectious.
City Theatre’s next show “Pirates and Whips. The Cage of Men” (rated 18) is on at The Hope Street Theatre in June, and tickets and more information can be found on The Hope Street Theatre website.