The Strasse

Tash Frost’s third production (she previously directed Candlewasters and Walk a Mile) is set in The Strasse, home to a violent hierarchy at the head of which sits ‘The Boss’. Produced, directed and performed by students, the play is a blend of Oliver Twist, Harry Potter and any gangster film. It's a story of power and the powerless, an unknown boss and a valuable boy.

The play begins with Amir (Thom Louis) being set upon by a bunch of thugs who then inexplicably let him go. Saul (Scot Dignan) argues with Jack (Paul Brotherston) about Amir, and Frankie (Katia Kvinge) suggests that perhaps Jack needs help in apprehending the boy. Amir then befriends a group of loveable orphans and slowly reveals why he is of such importance to ‘The Boss’.

As student productions go, The Strasse is not absolutely without merit. Yet the play started late, many of the actors seemed to be under the illusion that good acting consists of stamping one’s feet repeatedly, and the climax was so anti-climactic that even the actors on stage seemed to lose interest. Despite the production lasting less than an hour, it somehow still felt too long and although each of the sixteen actors did their best to maintain the audience's attention (with a lot of shouting, onstage violence and abundant expletives), it was simply not enough. Dignan’s version of a villain involved lots of gazing into the audience while his voice modulated between loud and quiet registers; thankfully Kvinge’s performance demonstrated the subtlety that his lacked.

But perhaps the root of the problem lies in the fact that there appeared to be no narrative arc: the story lacked tension, the resolution lacked drama, and the production itself lacked memorable dialogue or action. Ultimately, the plot was as sparse as the set.