Wall Talks

Published Wednesday 6 June 2007 at 12:40 by Chris High

Covering 150 years of identity building, Wall Talks is a cross-the-arts promenaded piece examining what it is that has made Liverpool the place it is today. Industrialisation, Slavery, Shipbuilding, The Mersey beat generation and the riots of the early eighties are all covered until at last we come to today’s rejuvenation.

Though sadly in a state of some neglect, setting the play in a warehouse certainly adds to the atmosphere, as the voices of the actors, haunting music and the banging of doors reverberate through the old building to great effect. Even the weather plays its part as night draws in, turning the building into a character of its own thanks to some evocative video imagery and lighting.

The performances are intoxicating. Jane Hogarth in the roles of Carolina Cotton Queen, Irish Famine widow and women’s wartime dock leader, is exemplary in each part, with a singing voice reminiscent of Kirsty McColl. Victor Power and the dancing of Clementine Clemendore, who at one point uses a pool of water to great effect, are all dynamic in their varying roles, as too is Nick Birkinshaw, who’s sombre countenance fits so well. Yet it is Brian Dodd and Ebony Feare who wring most from their parts and weave the thread of the story across the generations in a way made to look easy by a tight script that rarely disappoints.

Wall Talks is without doubt a work in progress, yet is still a captivating piece of theatre that should be enjoyed and experienced by all.