Planning Permission @ Unity Theatre

David Hutchinson, writer and director of Planning Permission at the Unity Theatre this week, came up with the idea for this new farce whilst on a series of train trips back and forth between Scotland and Liverpool, where he studied at LIPA. The co-founder of Sell a Door Theatre Company, who have produced this piece, says that it had been simmering in his mind for a while and once he started the actual writing he just couldn’t stop. Thank God he didn’t because this is an exquisite play which keeps you gripped from the beginning to the end.

Set during a Parish Council meeting at a local church in Cumbria, Planning Permission tells the story of a group of residents who are to decide the fate of a piece of land owned by one of the older members of the community.

Each must put their opinions across about why they want to keep it as it is, a hang-out for teenagers, or why they want to let it be concreted over so that a new video store can be built on it. During the course of the one Act play, the audience learns a lot about each of the characters – their flaws, their emotions and their prejudices; some of which turn out to be true, whilst others remain unfounded.

The play is very much an ensemble piece with each young actor bringing something new to the fore. Because each character has such a different background and is at a different stage in their lives, everyone has their own view points, and the cast generally get this across well. One minor point is that some of their accents maybe weren’t consistent throughout the play. Having said that, they all do a wonderful job, and some of the comic timing displayed is excellent, as are the character progressions.

Jessica Buxton, as the elderly Mrs Battersby, is the strongest member of the cast. The physical performance is so excellent that you do not doubt that she is the local battleaxe she portrays. The range of emotions she brings to her performance is great – showing tenderness which juxtaposes her harsh demeanour.

The highlight of the play is undoubtedly the writing. The story comes alive through the individual monologues which reveal each characters most inner thoughts and feelings. A stained glass window, which adorns the back wall of the set, is also used to project videos of individual characters inner thoughts. These are the emotional tools that drive the story forward, and what turns the play from being good to being great.

This play deserves be seen on a larger scale and the future is potentially very good for the writer/director and the young cast.

8/10

Planning Permission is at the Unity Theatre until Friday 15th May 2009.