Out in an abandoned back alley, four girls play in the muck. They inhabit different eras across the twentieth century but through the gap in a wire fence they’re born again into a timeless no-man’s land as their childhood selves. This is the wasteground of Charlotte Keatley’s play, an abstract and non-linear setting where all four characters can see themselves as equals. Their camaraderie is discarded here, forgotten in the main action of the play which pits women against one another.
Stewart Pringle’s concise two hander Trestle is a leisurely stroll of a play that discusses the realities of getting on and growing old. Harry (Gary Lilburn) is a shy retiree who occupies his time wrapped up in being chair of the Bullingham Improvement Committee whereas sprightly Zumba instructor Denise (Connie Walker) believes in grabbing every opportunity as it comes. They meet in the brief handover period between their respective groups gathering at the local community hall and the drama plays out with a precise awkward Britishness.
Courtesy of Robert Workman.