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| Charlie Hardwick |
After
the sell out success last year, Clear White Light has returned to The Live
Theatre and tickets will undoubtably be in short supply. Based on the gothic
short story, The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe, and inspired by
the songs of Alun Hull from Lindisfarne it is set in the psychiatric hospital
where Alun Hull once worked and wrote many Lindisfarne songs during his
nightshifts.
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| Elizabeth Carter, Charlie Hardwick and Joe Caffrey |
There
has only been one cast change for this run, with Elizabeth Carter playing
Alison, the student nurse about to start her first nightshift on an all-male
ward. Her mentor is Rod, Joe Caffrey, who under the pressure of running the
ward on his own, gives Ali three patients to look after. Charlie, Dale Jewitt,
the maths expert. Barry, Billy Mitchell, the former garage owner and Aaron,
Phil Adele. Joe Caffrey gives a polished performance and instantly draws you
into the life of an overstretched nurse working under the NHS. The versatile
and incredibly talented Charlie Hardwick plays Maddie, Joe’s twin sister, who
is a patient on another ward in the hospital. The cast is completed by Alice
Blundell as Jo, the nurse who appears with updates from Maddie’s ward.
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| Elizabeth Carter |
The
haunting appearances of Maddie and her powerful singing are superb her
performance is a mix of psychosis to hippy freedom. The entire cast in amazingly
strong, and once again Joe Caffrey shows what an immensely powerful actor he is.
The music is a major part of this production and was one of the main catalysts
in its creation, with each song inexplicably intertwining the story. The
perfect addition to this is Ray Laidlaw playing drums along side the actor
musicians.
There
is a disjointed feel to the 2nd act which adds to the intensity of
the psychotic episode that follows, where suddenly soon after everything
becomes clearer. The lighting and sound effects perfectly create the gothic
horror feel of the piece.
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