How do we like our men? “Dressed as women!”
And in a single quote, much of ‘Howling Moon’ can be summed up. This play is one which, in gracing the Drama Barn last weekend, left its audience bemused, excited and altogether quite emotional.
Student Heather Wilmot’s script is at time brilliantly funny, and at others heart-wrenchingly sad, as it takes the audience on a wild ride for almost three hours (with interval) through the mind of Maggie, who is a “22-year-old student, actually,” and played by Gemma Whitham. It is plagued by problems that do need fixing if it’s ever to be reshown, but they are mostly located in a clear disregard for the ‘delete’ button. The play is simply too long, but ruthless editing could turn a pretty decent script into an amazing one. Wilmot’s direction and producer Shona Jemphrey’s success in securing grass turf for the Barn have definitely benefited the production, along with clever lighting design by Jack Luckett and Josh Littlewood, which fearlessly exploits usage of the full blackout.
Whitham’s portrayal of Maggie is well acted, if at times strained. However, for an actor who is forced to be on stage for almost the entirety of the play, her performance is very strong. With a character that, despite being the centre of the entire two acts, isn’t entirely memorable, Whitham does well to exploit her lines to maximum effect.
Yet none in the play do this better than Sam McCormick, better known as The Fox. Hilariously witty, sharp and somehow equally lovable, The Fox is brought to life by McCormick’s joyful, jovial take on the character. Instantly fun, and bringing a comic edge to the sometimes quite sombre events that take place on stage, McCormick is very good at what he does.
“But what is ‘Howling Moon’ about?” I hear you ask. “What does it look like? What does it sound like?”
The only real response is: magical. If you were to take a 1980s flashback (think Duran Duran), Alice in Wonderland, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, Lord of the Rings, David Bowie and The Wizard of Oz and pump them all through some kind of play-writing machine, then you’d probably be close to the result. Confused? So was I.
Nonetheless, ‘Howling Moon’ somehow succeeds in everything it sets out to do. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you smile, it makes you pine, and it takes you on one long rollercoaster journey. Daisy Bunyan’s costume, hair and makeup design is perhaps clichéd (white face paint, bin liner dresses and backcombed hair have all certainly been done before), the choreography can seem misplaced but often effective, the script can seem too long and the direction occasionally uninventive, and yet, somehow, ‘Howling Moon’ wins its audience over. Leaving The Barn, there was one simple comment on my lips.
“I’m not entirely sure what just happened, but I’m pretty sure that I think it was good.”