Up 'n' Under at Hull Truck Theatre 23/07/2004 with Cast Interview By Andy Dykes

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John Godber's play Up 'n' Under has enjoyed widespread success for twenty years. So it's obvious that the story, although I have to admit I don't really know it, does not need to be reviewed. So I realise that if this report is going to be of any worth at all, tonight I need to review the performance.

Following a little confusion with my ticket, swiftly sorted out by the duty manager, a lovely lady called Christine, I buy a programme. It's one of the most thorough and informative things I've read in a long time, giving me a background to the play, the cast and a short history of rugby league among other things. I have time to read the whole thing before going into the auditorium.

The show itself opens with a troop of smiling young women performing a well choreographed cheer-leading routine. They're very enthusiastic and very together and they put the crowd in a good mood straight away. Initially the stage is bare. The opening scene takes place on the sidelines of a match. The stage remains bare and it's thanks to the quality of the acting and direction that the scene is set. The acting is very natural and the dialogue is the kind of talk you get off the sidelines of any sporting event you might wish to attend.

It's also wonderfully Yorkshire. It's in this scene that the hero, Frank, gets himself involved in a bet to train up the worst rugby league team in the area - The Wheatsheaf Arms of Hessle - and play to win against the unbeatable Cobblers, the team coached by his rival, Reg.

The story is all about the plight of the players as Arthur trains them up for the game. It's all very funny. Not a minute goes by without a big laugh or two. Occasionally a line gets lost in all the laughter but on the whole the show flows perfectly. From the off, the audience are responsive and enthusiastic, and their interest never dwindles.

'Up 'n' Under' is a show that feeds off its audience. It's in the imaginations of the audience that the sparse props become gyms and playing fields and pubs, and the actors need that sense of audience involvement in order to play their parts. The actors seem to feed off the energy of the audience and vice versa. It's an exchange that 'Up 'n' Under' relies heavily upon in order to be successful. And it certainly works.

The physical aspects of the show are brilliant. The slow motion action of the training run and various incidents in the match are performed brilliantly. And the gym scenes that sandwich the interval are superb: a positive highlight for me. And when someone in the audience bursts into an absolute fit of hysterical laughter, Phil (James Weaver), doing a scene on his own, is the only person in the theatre who manages to keep a straight face. Much to his credit.

The match between the Cobblers and The Wheatsheaf Arms is an awesome climax. The crowd shout and cheer as if they're at a real sporting fixture, and man, it's exciting. I'll admit, I was clapping and screaming along with the rest.

While he claims to have rewritten some 70% of the play - partly to update it for a modern audience, partly because he feels he has improved as a writer of dialogue - John Godber has kept the story true to its original format. The film version of Up 'n' Under released in 1998 sees the team victorious in the end. In the stage version, the team lose. It's a more potent, powerful ending that conjures up a remarkable sense of defiance in both the characters and the audience.

It's a great ending to a great show performed..greatly. For me, it's the most important part of the play, and it's something that would be lost if the heroes were to emerge victorious. No one likes a winner. The emotion of the resilience and defiance of the players in the face of defeat translates well in Hull Truck theatre. The venue is small and intimate enough for the whole audience to feel what the players are supposed to feel, and the quality of the acting portrays this perfectly.

Continued on www.thisisUll.com...... Next Page Cast Interview .

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