Missing Lane Markers on the A47, which is written and directed by Toby Moran Mylett, is an inspired and absurdly hilarious piece that showcases the many stories and lives that occur in a domino effect along the A47. Mylett chooses to focus on the character's journeys rather than their destination, and in doing so, creates a stimulating and firm foundation for the play.
From the amusing new found friendship between wannabe cyclist Ellis (Jessie Williams) and short tempered Spencer (Harry Bucukoglu), the hopes of a potential rekindled relationship between Ria (Cléo Roggenhofer) and Ted (Ben Devlin), Ria's feisty diva iguana Gloria (Gaby Coleman), a reckless young driver G (Sarah Chamberlain) and her many crashes into the lives of the exasperated roadside assistant Ren (Áine Craig), the uniquely perceptive Jarrer (David Vayne), and the grieving recent widower Dylan (Daniel Newton), the play creates a fully fledged world that the audience are plunged into.
The A47, is an A road between Leicester and Norwich (according to the e-programme), and has the characters dotted along this route at unspecified locations. In doing so, Mylett covers a large ground, allowing for a variety of characters to come together. The play is split into many individual storylines interwoven with one another, creating an intricate web of entangled lives.
Mylett tackles the challenge of creating a rather large ensemble piece with ease, ensuring that each character is given equal importance and stage time, with a distinctive and detailed personality and tone. The characters have been well matched, creating fraught tensions and impending drama throughout the piece. Mylett raises the bar of these interwoven stories by bringing various characters together and inviting further tense relationships by placing these characters in a metaphorical minefield.
Whilst Mylett has a confident grasp and understanding of his characters and their world, neatly guiding the audience through the mayhem without any confusion, the many scene transitions lose some of the momentum that the writing creates. The play unfolds in fragments as the audience are given snapshots of the characters, but this effective storytelling style is often fractured by the many pauses between scenes. Whilst understandable in a practical sense, the extended moments of pause with catchy, yet repetitive music does cause audiences to return to reality between scenes, and it takes a moment to re-engage with the piece. The 60-minute piece has over twenty individual scenes, causing for this to be a slightly glaring issue, hindering what would have otherwise been an utterly brilliant gem piece of theatre.
That being said, the performances and the individual scenes themselves are thoroughly compelling and magnetic, along with the sharp wit of the writing evoking laughter and intrigue throughout. The play glides past the bumps of shorter scenes by almost challenging the audience to connect the dots in a brave and bold manner, whilst providing nuggets of wisdom and thought-provoking quotes that are memorable. Mylett's writing is astounding in its capability to achieve so much depth and nuance, along with ridiculous silliness and clever wordplay, along with several strong storylines and many characters.
Chamberlain presents G as a naive, reckless and yet deeply empathetic character, in a wonderfully expressive performance. Craig delivers a strong performance as Ren, particularly towards the show's finale, with a her open vulnerability. Newton creates space for himself as the grieving Dylan, threatening to steal the show's spotlight in his outburst and subsequent moment of epiphany. Newton's performance is equal parts chilling and charming. Devlin as Ted, is a subtle force, with his seemingly simple performance that ultimately becomes the heart of the play in a beautifully understated manner.
Roggenhofer as Ria, is given the least stage time yet makes the most of it, ensuring an emotionally powerful performance that propels the play further. Vayne as Jarrer is a mysterious and yet, calming presence in the play, made even better by Vayne's own distinctive charm and mischievous energy. Bucukoglu as Spencer feels wholly and utterly British, rendering a tough exterior, soft interior character that audiences will warm up to. Williams as Ellis is an absolute delight, immediately becoming an audience favourite with her eager doe eyed performance and bumbling nature.
Coleman as Gloria, the iguana, is without doubt the show's standout performer. Channeling the attitude of a bratty preteen and the energy of a dramatic diva, Coleman is mesmerising to watch, wordlessly winning over the entire audience. Coleman is committed to the character, even swallowing a piece of paper and dancing like a reptile, and this creates a endlessly hilarious character that deserves her own spin off story.
The play is quite minimal in terms of props and set, wisely choosing to trust the writing to create a highly entertaining show. Roman Terrazas's lighting and Toby Moran Mylett's sound both ensure the numerous scene transitions are swift and as smooth as possible. Performers Devlin and Roggenhofer also contribute to the play, lending their talents as composer and costume designer respectively. Roggenhofer ensures that the character's costumes feel quite natural, yet add unspoken detail and clarity to the production. Production assistant Anna Willmoth, assistant director and producer Megan Schadler also assist in acquiring the limited yet significant props and the black backdrops.
Missing Lane Markers on the A47 is a strong play to start one's stagey year. Leaning into the experimental freedom of Fringe theatre, Mylett has created a staggering and vivid world, with vibrant characters that feel alive. Yet it's the clever connections between characters, and the many smaller messages that are hidden within conversations that really highlight the beauty of messy human relationships and emotions that make the piece unforgettable.
Missing Lane Markers on the A47 plays at the Bread and Roses Theatre until the 17th of January.
★★★★☆ (4*)
Photography by Oviya Thirumalai (@minnale_photography)
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