On a Shout

Published Wednesday 30 January 2008 at 14:45 by Kevin Berry

Wild and windswept Spurn Point, at the mouth of the River Humber, has the only full-time lifeboat crew in the UK. This new play from Dave Windass centres on George, a coxswain at the Point, who is facing retirement.

Episodes from George’s life and his father’s life are recalled. His father was a lifeboat hero who drowned during a rescue and George is looking for a last chance to live up to him.

Windass, a former reviewer for The Stage, evokes the tradition of service, the lure of the lifeboats and the lure of Spurn Point. So where is Spurn Point on the stage? We don’t see it. Much of the play is set in the lifeboat ops room but there is no view of the Point.

The cast’s movement in imagined lifeboats is richly dramatic. A fine and often frightening soundscape, from Stuart Briner and Matt Thompson, adds to the drama but it isn’t loud enough, and surprisingly is not played before the show or during the interval. It should be.

Edward Peel makes George believable. Newcomer to Hull Truck Matthew Stathers impresses as George’s father and in his other roles. Richard Standing stirs much of the workplace banter and dark humour as a laddish crewman and is memorably effective as George’s tragic brother.

Not always sure where George is supposed to be when he’s recalling events, but a worthy play nonetheless.