Passing Through returns

Jun 26 2012 | By More

Peapod Prods go back on the road

By Thom Dibdin

Philip Kingscott and Anna Guthrie in Peapod Productions' Passing Through

Philip Kingscott and Anna Guthrie in Peapod Productions’ Passing Through

Passing Through, the immersive rom-com from Peapod Productions, is to get a new lease of life with dates in July and October, followed by a new tour in 2013.

Written by Alistair Rutherford, the two-hander features sees Philip Kingscott as wannabe tabletop magician who performs as the Ace of Spades. Anna Guthrie plays his girlfriend and  assistant Tracey.

The play’s director, Andy Corelli, told the Annals that the play has also got a reshape and a rewrite for the new tour dates.

He said: “Alistair had wanted to further develop the Tracey character to give her more heart and depth. This resulted in a new monologue, new lines and a new dynamic between her and the Tommy character in one of the scenes. It made Tracey a more rounded attractive person.

“In addition, tweaks to existing lines in other scenes were made for smoothness and were more in keeping with what the characters would actually say. Alistair also decided that cursing in the play was gratuitous and unnecessary, so all these references were removed.”

Passing Through‘s main thrust follows a disastrous gig at a Dockers Social Club, where Tommy turns up to find that the social secretary thought he had been booking a Motorhead tribute act. With tensions rising, Tommy takes off for a local bar where he encounters the soaked-through Lucy, who has been stood up by her boyfriend, Richard.

Corelli makes great use of the audience as willing participants in the production, particularly in Kingscott’s creation of Tommy’s magic act, when they become the Dockers Social Club audience. Such complicity and immersion allows the production to move backwards and forwards between the two couples, with both performers doubling up to cover the four characters.

Returning to the play has been a benefit, according to Corelli. Not just in the textual changes, but in allowing the company to look deeper into their characters.

“The revised script has enabled us all to find new intentions and dynamics within the story,” he said. “The remarkable thing is that the text changes were relatively small, with the exception of Tracey’s monologue, but these have resulted in big changes in a character’s mood, objective, action and so on – all in a very positive and illuminating way.

“The beauty though of a well written script is that more than one interpretation can be made of a line, unit or scene. So even with existing text, to keep the process challenging, exciting and fresh for all, new ideas, new meanings and new laughs have been found which we hope will have a very enjoyable impact on the audience.”

Passing Through on tour:

4-5 July8pm LeithSouth Leith Parish Hall Details
7 July8pm LivingstonHowden Park 01506 777666 Online details

ENDS

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