This was my first taste of a Yorkshire Fringe event, and what a great way to start. The venue was small and intimate, which was perfectly suited to the theme of the work; the relationship between a man and a woman, played out in their home. At times it felt that we were being quite intrusive, sitting on a leather Chesterfield only feet from where they were experiencing various episodes from their lives.
Soil is a two-hander starring Alexis Starke and Alfie Peckham, with a supporting role filled by a pot plant. It covered the period from their first date to the present time, when they realised that their lives would never turn out the way they had envisaged and hoped.
The play opened with Alfie – the characters’ names were not revealed – sitting on a dining chair, staring into space in an almost trance-like state. It became obvious, with the entrance of Alexis, bearing the aforementioned pot plant, that it wasn’t so much a meditative state, as a traumatic breakdown. She placed the new acquisition on the floor at the front of the stage and promised Alfie that she would look after this and make sure it didn’t meet the same fate as the previous ones. It would later become clear that the plant was a metaphor rather than merely an horticultural addition to the decor.
The opening scene with Alfie in an otherworldly state of mind.
After failing to elicit any response from Alfie, the whole place was plunged into darkness and when the lights came back on we saw the couple engaged in the kind of awkward conversation which only happens on a first date, when each party is trying to make small talk whilst being very careful not to say anything untoward, which might blow any chance of a second date, let alone getting jiggy with it later on this one. What a long memory I have! After a smooch to Buddy Holly singing True Love Ways via the record player – if that doesn’t get you to first base nothing will – the lights went out again and we were back to the present.
There were too many flashbacks to recall them all, but from the one where Alexis is having to tell her mother on the phone that she is not pregnant, it soon becomes obvious that this is what the plant is all about.
Another conversation reveals that Alexis is a cat lover, whilst Alfie is a dog man, thus later indicating which of the two is more concerned about the increasingly remote possibility of them producing an issue. His concern about Milo, the dog he shared with his ex, which she took on their split, giving the game away even more. Dogs are dependent, whereas cats are independent, or, as someone once told me – a dog looks up to you, a cat looks down on you, but a pig will always treat you as an equal. I’m still trying to work out whether that was a piece of philosophy or an insult.
Alexis shows off her new purchase.
The couple move house but are still mourning the failed attempts at parenthood, which turns out to be the source of Alfie’s malaise. Eventually we see the shrivelled remnants of a plant in the same pot, as Alexis rips it out, throws it away and plants a coffee mug in its stead. A sign that she has given up completely.
I have gone into detail as I can find no mention of there being any further performances in the near future – so no problem with spoilers – which is a tragedy in itself, as this piece was superbly written, by Alexis Starke – yes, the girl in the play – and wonderfully acted by both artists. Ms Starke switching effortlessly and instantly, between the moods engendered by the flashbacks, whilst Mr Peckham transformed from gauche young man to a mental wreck, and back, in the same blink of an eye. The piece was superbly directed by Meg De Bell.
The greatest accolade I can bestow on Soil, is that, at the end, whilst I was moved by the piece, the lady I took with me, an actress of some note, was in floods of tears at the end, so we had to take a couple of minutes before leaving the auditorium. I like to think it was the result of the play and not due to her having to spend an hour with me, it wasn’t she who informed me of the various attitudes of cats, dogs and pigs, so I will stick to my theory.
If any of the other works I am booked to see in the Yorkshire Fringe Festival are even half as good as this, I will be more than happy.
For information on the artists involved, please click on the attached link which will take you to the programme. https://www.canva.com/design/DAHO6H_HOHI/G-2S1xQZMnrXoAdckUX6_A/view?utm_content=DAHO6H_HOHI&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h9da75d3415
Full details of Yorkshire Fringe are at https://www.yorkshirefringe.co.uk/ the full programme can be found at https://www.yorkshirefringe.co.uk/programme
Feature image from Soil. Photographs by Stan Graham
Tyke It To The Limit 