A piece filled with potential to thrive, Ashes to Ashes & A Kind of Alaska at the Crescent Theatre is a developing show that has the possibility to portray a Pinter-esque masterpiece that the work deserves.

This Harold Pinter double bill sets the atmosphere evoking the comedy of menace. Ashes to Ashes focuses on a couple facing issues with domination and submission, loyalty and volatility. A Kind of Alaska sees a woman awaking from a sleep of 29 years, following the immediate fall out of her return to consciousness. Both plays question existentialism and the elusiveness of the past.

Positioning the audience around three edges of the stage is positive in the respect that audience members can take a different perspective for each piece and gives the impression of voyeurism, looking in on the action occurring onstage. Pinter's narratives are written sparsely in the hope that performers will take on a strong character to convey power battles as the drama emerges, however, this isn't the case here. All performers lack eye contact with the audience, and seem to direct the majority of lines towards the floor or directly to the ceiling. This lack of acknowledgement of the audience stunts the relationship with them in such an intimate space, something that these performers really have the potential to do in order to encourage the audience to engage further.

The simplicity of the set gives the opportunity to blend the mundane conversations that occur with the intense power dynamics created; keeping set pieces to a minimum allows for the amplification of the action onstage. It almost feels as if a physical barrier is created between the spectator and the performer through the direct contrast of the white and black flooring. Whilst this adds to the voyeurism, it also creates a spiritual barrier, showing that the audience is completely shut out of their world.

This is a piece with a lot of potential and, with further development, this could become a brilliant tribute to Pinter and his works.

Reviewed by: Harley Keasey

Ashes to Ashes & A Kind of Alaska plays at the Crescent Theatre, Birmingham until 28 October, with further information here.