Temper (Manchester 24:7 Festival)

Calum (Andrew Madden) is struggling to find himself in the world as well as dealing with issues that seem out of his control, his older girlfriend is desperate for him to be functional in the relationship, but she hasn’t heard the voicemail he left on her phone earlier ending the relationship, but does he really want to end it or is this a man who is simply just lost?

The biggest problem is that for all the hinting of mental illness and struggling from the role of Calum (and the neighbour) it really doesn’t know how to get it across, the dialogue for Calum is often a bit overwritten even for a role who is an over thinker, it doesn’t feel natural meaning it’s hard to connect with the character. This is in stark contrast to Mick (Taran Knight) who is written to perfection but has no real reason for existing in the play other than to provide some comedy relief (though we do get the occasional glimpse at another side to him). The role of the girlfriend Deb (Jane Leadbetter) we are led to believe could provide the answers and the help for Calum but that never really shows through, the play struggles to find a voice or an identity.

However for the most part the writing is beautifully realised by Richard O’Neill who left me intrigued to see more from him and the rhythm of the piece stays brisk and dramatic silent moments are played well (direction Chris Bridgman), I can’t help thinking that a longer version of this play that delved more in to the head space, connections and hopes of these characters would be far more successful, I for one would love to see this.

The cast do a great job, Andrew Madden is likeable as Calum but as mentioned the dialogue at times let’s him down, Jane Leadbetter as Deb delivers her brilliantly written dialogue with an effortlessly naturalistic approach, but it’s Taran Knight as the neighbour Mick who steals the show, full of swagger and smirk it’s a perfectly timed performance that allows us to see beyond the bravado.

Temper is a frustrating play because all the pieces are there but just need a bit of reassembling and for it to find its voice, I strongly urge everyone involved to keep working on the show as it has the potential to be a very good play.

– Craig Hepworth