[Review] Mouse on the Stair: Call of the Stranger
The stranger of the title is Mac 9Ben Sillitoe), a forgotten friend, who arrives unexpectedly on Gill and his wife’s doorstep. Throughout the course of the play Mac tries to manipulate the tensions in this struggling family to his own end, only to realise that he has unleashed his ruthless will to survive in them all.
The making of this play is in Bridge’s careful dissection of a family apart but together. The stilted back and forth of a failing marriage is conveyed wonderfully by Gill’s wife (Katie Hartwill), whose acerbic demeanour is the same whether looking at curtain catalogues or faced with a knife to the throat. Gill’s (Jack Wharrier) obsession with money is placed in a dynamic opposition with the mysterious Mac, who is not concerned with the material but seems to talk in riddles which muse upon the abstract.
Mac is played with a dark intensity, appearing at times half-madman, half-genius. Bridge clearly sees this character as a mouthpiece for the overarching themes of the play and indeed forces at work in the universe. Whilst this is largely successful – of particular note are the poetic speeches similar to Jostein Gaarder’s work – at times Mac’s monologues can sap the audience’s strength a little, as this is quite a long piece for a Fringe debut.
But as a thinking man’s play this piece should be praised for its provocative themes and ambition, which are handled well by an impressive cast. Bridge has injected an element of chaos into a seemingly sterile scene – the family home – and through this manages to bring new life and new ideas to the Fringe stage.
Who: Mouse on the stair: Call of the Stranger
Where: C central
When: 19:00-20:30; 6th-28th August (even dates only)
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