A Steady Rain
The Old Joint Stock Theatre in Birmingham is cementing the way for great fringe theatre, and my recent visit to see A Steady Rain was an enjoyable evening of drama, suspense and captivating performances.
If you’re familiar with the Dahmer murders, you may well be familiar with the two police officers who sent one of his victims straight back to him to be killed in the most heinous way. A Steady Rain features these two police officers and their story, however we delve into their lives before that fateful night and the Dahmer connection is only a small part of the play, with many other life events taking centre stage. We take a look at their dynamic as life long friends aswell as work colleagues and how dreaming of taking the place of someone else in a happy family environment is played out to dramatic effect.
Steven Rostance and Graham MacDonnell play Denny and Joey respectively, friends from Kindergarten who also now work as police officers together, however they both feel undervalued at work having been passed over time and time again for promotion. Their relationship is tumultuous with Denny always feeling like he has the upper hand due to his happy family life, and Joey being a lonely single man stuck in a rut. However Denny is not quite the wholesome family man he purports to be, as he takes on some extra curricular activities with Rhonda, a local prostitute which leads to some devastating consequences…..however I won’t be spoiling the entire plot!
Rostance and MacDonnell worked very well together, offering up a vast range of emotion, with highly charged scenes and dramatic moments that left you gripped. For me, I found the first half of the show quite a slow burner, wondering where the story was heading. The writing by Keith Huff had a habit of flitting back and forth between moments in time, which on some occasions made me wonder where in the timeline we were. I felt slightly confused at the interval, but of course this made me want to head straight back in to see the rest of the show. The second half answered many of my questions thankfully, and a conclusion was met, however this is not a show with a happy ending!
A simple, well constructed set found us inside a police office, with filing cabinets, a board displaying current cases and a metal table. This set was effective and utilised the small space well. Lighting by Joanne Marshall was used to dramatic effect, plunging us into darkness between scenes and using low lighting during certain moments to intensify the action.
I’m always in awe of performers who remember such vast amounts of dialogue, and Rostance and MacDonnell provided a fast flowing performance without dropping pace at all, keeping the audience interested and invested in the unfolding story.
As I mentioned before, I don’t want to give too much of the story away, but we are transported away into the lives of two friends who both make wrong decisions in their career and personal life, some more catastrophic than others.
This show was reviewed on the 17th October 2024 at the Old Joint Stock Theatre, Birmingham where it runs until the 19th October 2024. For tickets visit: A Steady Rain (oldjointstock.co.uk)
Review written by Emma Rowley
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Photo credit: Perro Loco Productions
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