Theatre - ‘Seascape with Sharks and Dancer”

Lewes Community Theatre returns tonight with a new production of the American play, ‘Seascape with Sharks and Dancers’ by Don Nigro. The play, which features a cast of just two, represents a departure from their previous large-scale family productions. I talked to Meriel Whale, who founded the company last year to provide funds to build a nursery school for a Tibetan refugee camp in Bangalore. “I acted in the play years ago, and really loved it then. Originally I recommended it as audition material for some of our members, but then the actors were really keen to put on a production. Also I wanted to extend the range of our repertoire”. “The play itself is a tragi-comedy about two young people”, she continues. “It opens with a woman, Tracey lying on a sofa in a strange house by the sea. We find out that she has been pulled out of the water by the man (Ben). He is claiming that she was drowning, whilst she is saying that she was dancing. She ends up staying with Ben, and the play focuses on their subsequent relationship which veers from charming to dysfunctional.”
Co-directing the play are two first-timers, Allistur Cranston and Francois Norris - a move which signals another strand of Meriel’s project. “I really want to expand all aspects of the company”, she tells me, “and I am particularly looking for new directors. Ideally they will then be able to choose a play and direct it themselves with me there for guidance and supervision in the background.” The company will return with a cabaret production in August and a performance of Alice Through the Looking Glass at Christmas. ER