Play - James Saunders' Games & After Liverpool

Last night we had the pleasure of seeing two fantastic one act plays by the late James Saunders at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. The first play was After Liverpool, a witty, spinning set of conversation between couples, new and old, exploring how people can fail to communicate even when they are talking by either not saying anything, not listening or simply evading. Sadly, all of us have had nearly everyone of these conversations at some point in your lifetime of relationships. It was beautifully directed and acted. A rare pleasure.

The second play was Games, which attempts (and succeeds) on breaking the barrier between the actors, the acting, the performance and eventually the audience. You are pulled into watching the actors preparing for a play, but you don’t know what is the practice and the discussion of the play. Jarringly the play stops at a point and invites (unknowingly) the audience to comment on the theme of the play within the play. At our performance, people were slow to open up, but the audience comment’s came and were amazingly thoughtful and thought provoking. Very interesting lesson in personal and moral responsibility, powerfully illustrated.