Review: ROAD, Oldham Coliseum

Photo credit: Chris Payne

Produced in-house at Oldham Coliseum Theatre, this new production of Jim Cartwright’s first play Road brings the stories of its working-class residents of Lancashire home to the North West.  Despite originally being written and set in the mid-1980s in the time of Margaret Thatcher’s government, the issues and themes of Cartwright’s play seem just as relevant in the world we live in today.

Cartwright’s writing feels like a true representation of life with the diverse range of characters with their different struggles and yet they are all stuck together living their lives on the same road repeating the same cycle of getting ready at home, going out and then meandering back along the road to their houses at the end of the night.  Amongst the raucous youths, the foul-mouthed middle-aged neighbours and the reminiscent elderly, it would be hard for audience members to not find at least one resident of the road they relate to, which really is the beauty of the world Cartwright has created.

This production is directed by Gitika Buttoo, a Manchester-based director from Yorkshire so it’s clear that the play’s northern roots were at the heart of creating this revival.  A lot of times, Road is performed in promenade where audience members can walk in and around the action, visiting each household along the road.  In Buttoo’s production, the vast majority of the drama takes place on the stage of the Coliseum, however it seems Buttoo has taken inspiration from previous productions by having characters milling about the theatre’s foyer and auditorium before the show begins and having a couple of scenes take place with the actors situated around the audience.  Buttoo’s direction combined with the character of Scullery breaking the fourth wall, acting as a narrator and tour guide, really allows the audience to feel connected to the community of the road.

To help bring the houses in Road to life, the set designed by Foxton creates the various homes of all the characters as well as the pub they all frequently visit as well as the outdoor environment of the road itself.  There are only a couple of indoor rooms created by the set design, but they are used effectively to give the impression that they are different homes for different people.  One clever design feature of the set is that the rooms are on different levels, which works as a nice metaphor for the lives of the residents overlapping each other.

Every single actor in the production has been perfectly cast into their roles and each of them give powerful performances, both as individuals and together as an ensemble.  Throughout the play, the audience are taken on an emotional rollercoaster of a journey by the cast as they perform Cartwright’s amusing, poignant and heart-wrenching scenes.

Jim Cartwright’s words still remain just as relevant in 2022, with social class divides and the cost of living crisis, as they were back in 1986.  By bringing a play that has an integral connection to the Oldham Coliseum’s local community to northern audiences, Gitika Buttoo’s fantastically gripping version of Road allows audiences to truly connect with live theatre and each other whilst celebrating the northern talent whom share their stories with the world.

***** Five stars

Reviewed by: Jess Dalloway

Road plays at Oldham Coliseum until 1 October, with tickets available here.