Review by: Paul Towers, 06 November 2017
The Secret Keeper by Angela Clerkin
A Clerkinworks & Ovalhouse presentation
Curve 6 – 7 November 2017
“Just because it is a fairy tale, don’t expect a happy
ending.”
Every fairy tale worth its salt is a combination of
morality, fantasy and horror. Angela Clerkin’s The Secret Keeper, not to be
confused with Kate Morten’s book of the same name, has all those elements in a
slyly satirical take on modern life, especially current surreal sexual revelations.
The Good Daughter stumbles upon the secret of making her father
cast off the pall of gloom that hangs over him as he struggles to get over his
brother’s death nine years ago. All she has to do is listen to his secrets and
promise never to reveal them. This instantly cheers him up and he proclaims her
to be a miracle worker. Very soon the townsfolk flock to her and unburden
themselves, absolving their miseries. Sound familiar? Pseudo Catholicism in all
its glory. One by one the Good Daughter is burdened with all their sordid
secrets until one day the weight becomes too great and she blurts the whole lot
out. Again, familiar ground if you follow Edward Snowdon’s leaking of US
classified documents. Hypocritically those exposed go on the rampage and exact their
revenge on the secret keeper’s indiscretion. As is always the case the guilty
cast round for someone else to blame for their own peccadilloes.
A supremely talented cast of just 4 play 40 characters with
visual invention, an imaginative soundtrack and original songs.
Angela Clerkin plays the Good Daughter while Niall Ashdown,
Hazel Maycock and Anne Odeke fill in all the blanks with aplomb, swiftly
changing character with barely a draped shawl or an apron.
Just because it is a fairy tale, don’t expect a happy
ending.
The Secret Keeper is at Curve again tomorrow
Fiirst published on Western Gazette
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