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Find Me by Olwen Wymark
Etcetera Theatre, London
11 - 30 September 2007
Find Me, by award winning playwright Olwen Wymark, tells of the harrowing true story of Verity Taylor, who suffered an undiagnosed mental disorder. Verity’s illness has a destructive impact on her family, who struggle to cope with behaviour they cannot understand or access. Set in the 1970’s the play highlights the deficiencies of social services and hospitals of the time who are unsuccessful in dealing with Verity’s situation and offer inadequate support and advice to her helpless parents. Verity is tried, judged and sentenced. At the age of 20 Verity is incarcerated indefinitely in Broadmoor, after setting fire to to a chair, “from where she may not be transferred elsewhere without the permission of the home secretary” (a condition of sentence which was applied to Myra Hindley).
A huge thanks to everyone who attended and supported our Fundraiser and to all of you that continue to support our productions.
Cast:
Natalie Hughes, Antony Law, Madeleine Lund, Drew McKenzie, Rachel Penn, Lisa Ralph, John Terrence, Jennifer Wren.
Director Ishbel Nicol
Co - Director Antony Law
Producer James Matthews
Lighting Designer Rob Reed
  
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Review
It is a skilled piece of writing, andIshbel Nicol directs with equal skill, shifting her ensemble cast neatly around the stage, always keeping the space dynamic and the tale fluid.
Lisa Ralph and Jennifer Wren give compelling performances as the young and teenage Verity respectively, veering between sullen silences, tentative calm and enraged outbursts. They both suggest an inner level of inner distress that others cannot understand or access, and appropriately convey an intimidating energy.
Verity’s illness has an understandably destructive impact on her family, who struggle to cope with behaviour they cannot understand or resolve. Antony Law is extremely sympathetic as Verity’s patient father, while Madeleine Lund delivers a startlingly good performance as Verity’s exhausted mother, both afraid of and pitying her unpredictable daughter.
The play highlights the deficiencies of social services and hospitals at the time in dealing with Verity’s situation and assisting a family struggling to cope. Nicol’s production does justice to the script and results in a dark and involving production.
The Stage |