Dorsetborn Theatre is a refreshing and innovative creative team whose latest production – Lessons from Teacher x – premiered 15th April, in the intimate Sherling Studio at Lighthouse, Poole’s centre for the Arts. The set immediately excites: a huge blood-red heart, vertically slashed, is the back drop, a chessboard rug with red and cream squares is littered with toddler-sized pieces, provocative underwear adorns a couple of small clothes rails, rom-com DVD cases define front of stage, there’s a school desk, an id tag and a film set director’s chair, all ingredients for a quick-fire, multi-role one-woman one-act show.
And quick-fire it is. Performer Barbara Smith (famous for playing Dana Monroe across 86 episodes of BBC’s Eastenders) superbly plays a panoply of characters who interact with Cam, the brilliant teacher who’s full of empathy and understanding, and Crystal, the secret online dominatrix who abuses her men ‘fans’ for money and pleasure.
This stunning production adroitly peels back layers of modern life, spotlighting contemporary issues while riding a rom-com rollercoaster storyline. The internet is a room with many doors, each one hiding a secret which, once seen and savoured, cannot be controlled or forgotten. The play delves into the complex realms of female sexual freedom, exploitation and money, control and responsibility, and the division between fantasy and reality. An array of recognisable and wholly credible characters contribute to the plot, with never a wasted word or superfluous gesture. Humour pervades the whole evening, from knowing looks to running Casablanca gags.
The audience sat on two sides of the Sherling studio, a challenging format for a production mainly front-focussed. Barbara Smith, in her professional theatre debut, rose to the challenge: in a non-stop 75 minutes, there were just a few slips of clarity. The technical side of the show was impressively seamless, music and sound enhancing every aspect.
And when the two contrasting worlds of Cam and Crystal collide there is an inevitable hiatus, a resolution that raises as many questions as it answers. Barbara Smith said she hopes the story is ‘going to get people talking’. I’m sure writer Erin De Frais and director Rohan Gotobed would agree. Well, we talked about it all the way home!
Thursday 21st May Dorchester Arts Centre, Touring until 6th June. Check Dorsetborn website for dates and venues.
dorsetborn.co.uk
