Reviewer: Christine Stanton
Company: Coin Toss Collective
“Timely, Creative, Impactful“
3.5 / 5
The residents of Portsford are extremely proud of their seaside town, full of tight-knit, community spirit. But the beauty of the local area is overshadowed by the climate change that is ravaging the coastlines and eroding the cliffs that each of them call home.
The characters are briefly introduced with a quick description of their place in the town. James (Ben Notice) owns the local pub with his wife Hannah (Rosie Mullaney) who writes for the Guardian, Kal (Weronika Dwornik) is a paramedic who wants to save the town as much as she saves lives, and Kate (Alyssa Thomas) is a local MP who along with her cousin Louisa (Claudia Kurucz) is seemingly fighting a losing battle. The residents receive a letter in the post informing them of a laughably small offer of compensation to cover them when they inevitably lose their homes, livelihoods and community in the coming years due to coastal erosion. Banding together, they decide to set up a fundraising party, solidifying their community led efforts and keen approach to try and do what they can, while they still can.
Coin Toss Collective are an extremely high-energy, creative bunch of young artists that have come together to highlight a very timely issue, with an unconventional, yet impactful approach. Climate change is on the tip of everyone’s tounges, and the myriad of issues that come with it such as wildfires and flash flooding are often at the top of many manifestos. Coastal erosion doesn’t get nearly enough attention as it should, so having such a focused performance is fantastic for the cause. While this could have quite easily been told as a standardised narrative, they instead take the issue with an extremely abstract, artistic lens to keep the audience engaged and their plight memorable.
Like the waves crashing around in the pre-recorded video behind them, the cast are constantly moving, physically pushing themselves as much as possible and often switching from one high-energy intensive scene to the next. All of the performers are great – each with a different approach to their scenes. Sophia Oriogun-Williams (Alex), Dwornik and Kurucz are all pleading, passionate and slightly more serious, Notice and Thomas are relatable, engaging and likeable, while Mullaney and Woodroffe (Eli) are wonderfully exaggerated within their intense, cathartic scenes (notably with the water bucket!). Woodroffe also serves at points as host Sandy – facilitating audience participation through a series of sandcastle building and designing competitions, perfect in the role his quick-wit and engaging personality makes for a great presenter.
This passionate group of young, talented performers are heading off to Edinburgh for the Fringe this year, with a few other preview shows prior. Show up and show support, this is an entertaining, busy show, with a meaningful message.
Runs Until 17 April 2024
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