BLOG - VIADUCT THEATRE CHINA PLATES & PEARL EARRINGS by Jade Jones
17th-21st July Evenings @ 7pm, Saturday @ 2.30pm & 7pm HATWORKS MUSEUM, STOCKPORT SK3 0EU
China Plates and Pearl Earrings is a comedy that will appeal to anyone who has ever said:
‘You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family’.
That’s probably everyone, right? Brothers and sisters can be great, but they can also drive you nuts and that’s what we see in this play.
There’s big brother Brian, a solicitor, whose wife, Ivy, is disliked and distrusted by Brian’s sisters. That doesn’t make Brian’s life any easier, especially on big family occasions, so he avoids them if he can. Youngest sister Nicola doesn’t mince her words. She writes for a living, or at least she did before her life imploded. When the play opens, we see her struggling to accept her place in the family pecking order: if they treat her like the baby, then maybe that’s how she should behave.
Trying to keep everyone on track, while they carry out the important job of clearing their parents’ home, is big sister Julia. She’s the normal one; she’s a teacher, after all. Steady. Boring. Predictable. Isn’t she?
This vividly relatable piece, directed by the writer, features a talented, Greater Manchester-based cast: Tom Coffey as Freddie, Paul Fraser-Smith as Bryan, Claire Haymes as Julia, Lorna Newman as Nicola, Helen O’Hara as Ivy, Ali Wilson-Goldsmith as Mark and Emma Young as Linda. China Plates & Pearl Earrings: synopsis
Julia, Nicola and Bryan meet in the living room of their recently deceased parents’ home to prepare it for sale.
As they pack away their parents’ belongings and their own childhood memories, they make an inconvenient discovery.
This bitter-sweet comedy charts how Bryan and his sisters attempt to overcome grief, subsidence and a gold-digging member of the family, and slowly realise that they must pull together or, like the house, fall apart. In this rich, family drama, Jade Jones skillfully interweaves scenes from the past and the present to create parallels between the lives of these parents and their children, and she explores the universal themes of unconditional love, parenthood, life choices and the power of nostalgia.
This play is a skillful blend of comedy and pathos: something for everyone. About us New Stockport-based theatre company, Viaduct Theatre, present their second show, China Plates and Pearl Earrings.
The play is an exciting collaboration with acclaimed new writer, Jade Jones, and it’s also Viaduct Theatre’s debut at the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival .
Viaduct Theatre is named after Stockport’s mighty landmark and just as the Stockport viaduct connects Manchester and Stockport, Viaduct Theatre intends to extend the GM fringe theatre scene to Stockport.
At the moment there is a sad lack of what might be described as an ‘arts scene’ in the town, at least as far as performing arts are concerned, which seems strange, considering its closeness to Manchester, where there’s a wealth of interesting shows and venues.
Viaduct Theatre has decided to take on the challenge and find an audience who want more than the mainstream cultural offering of cinemas and pubs.
They are dedicated to showcasing the work of the best local theatre makers, creating more, professional, opportunities and offering an alternative to people in south Manchester who don’t always want to travel into Manchester to see quality independent theatre. It’s only 8 minutes on the train from Piccadilly to sunny Stockport. The Hatworks is directly on the A6. There really is NO excuse to miss this.
Come and lend your support to a new venture and help Viaduct Theatre to expand the brilliant GM fringe scene and create more opportunities for audiences and theatre makers alike.
Maureen O’Neill
