Tobacco Factory Theatres
The fond reminiscences and grief of a lost friendship are tender, the stumbles are charming, the silly jokes are silly.
Photo by Vonalina Cake
Tom Marshman is on stage as we find our seats. He’s wandering the space with one hand painted red, the other blue, ripping pages from a book and scattering them on the ground, while a recording of The Tempest plays on an old portable record player – an arresting scene full of clues of what is to come.
fond reminiscences and grief of a lost friendship
This is a show about friendship. Tom’s with his late collaborator Clare Thornton, mirrored through the friendship between Kenneth Williams, doyen of mid-century campery, and sharp-witted actor Dame Maggie Smith, connected by Tom’s love and respect for them all.
Tom is a raconteur. No fourth wall here, he communicates directly with the audience, telling stories of adventures and shenanigans and his close-knit between-friends slang. It’s like an editorial piece in a Sunday magazine, brought to life. Very engaging.
a show worth seeing more than once
There is some clever technology – Kenneth and Maggie – both played by Tom - are sitting at projections of bulb-lit dressing tables, and interrupt in-the-flesh Tom with their own brilliantly acerbic quotes and anecdotes. Sometimes they all dance together in spookily-stylised sequences.
Tom moves around creating little scenes and set pieces for us. There is something with a red ribbon which was very moving, small-scale puppetry to draw you in, lip-synching, suggestions of costume changes and a cheeky reveal. The fond reminiscences and grief of a lost friendship are tender, the stumbles are charming, the silly jokes are silly. Fittingly, I brought a friend with me to watch the show. They were tremendously moved, finding beauty and joy even through the pain of loss. As we left we agreed it is a show worth seeing more than once, to catch all the special moments Tom conjures.
What is mesmerising is the connection that’s happening between these grey-scale characters and the audience – very warm, human and authentic despite none of it being quite real. As Tom says, quoting Dame Maggie, “every performance is like a ghost - it's there and then it's gone.”
★★★★
A Shining Intimacy is at Tobacco Factory Theatres from 9-12 May 2023.
Tickets are available here.
Find out more about Tom Marshman.
Beccy Golding is a Bristol-based poet, fool, writer and arts administrator. She has recently created a brand new spoken word night for older / aging / elder women, called Stone the Crones.
Daily poetry at @FridayIsPoetsDay
@stonethecrones on all the socials