Our theatre reviewer, Hannah Hobson, shares her thoughts on The Catch at East Riding Theatre.
As I think I may have mentioned once or twice before in my reviews, I’m a local lass. As such I’m familiar with the maritime legacy of Hull and the East Coast, of trawlers and headscarf revolutionaries but less so with the lives of fishermen on the South West coastline. The life of a small boat fisherman is – pun intended – a very different kettle of fish. It is against this landscape that Nick Darke’s 1981 work, The Catch, plays out. This restaging from Other Lives Productions couldn’t be more timely.
The play follows two fishermen struggling with EU regulations and dwindling fish stock in the ocean only to turn to nefarious measures in order to supplement their income. Throw into the mix a shady offstage figure running many dodgy deals and a pregnant daughter in the house and you’ve got the makings of a brilliant comic play.
The Catch does have moments of that promised brilliance. The second act in particular balances wit and farce perfectly, where all of the elements crescendo into some fantastic onstage moments. The character dynamics are perfectly played. Between some impressive accent work from the cast and some wonderful worldbuilding in Darke’s writing, the play is so entirely immersive. I found it a surprise walking out into Beverley in 2021, having been so emerged in 1980s Padstow. Something which must be partly credited to Ed Ullyart, whose set design here is exemplary.
While I was invested enough in the lives of Swiddles, Leadwell and Thelma to stick with them, there are a few instances where the play’s action seems to lag, or the heavy dialect becomes muddy. I also think there were some lines that would have benefitted from an update for modern audiences. All in all, though, there is a reason that this play is still being performed forty years after its debut; it’s an entertaining piece of theatre.
Richard Avery’s direction makes good use of the space and conveys the story well. There’s a simplicity to the staging that lends itself to strong characters which The Catch certainly provides. Avery gives his cast the room to shine in their roles.
This is a task met well by all three players. Neil King as Swiddles is undoubtedly the stand-out performance of the three. Even when I found it difficult to follow the dialect, I always understood what King meant through his expressions. He provides the show’s emotional heart with ease and the pathos he brings to the aging fisherman is truly essential to the play’s success. Similarly, Gordon Meredith as Leadwell and Evie Gutteridge as Thelma provide excellent moral and emotional foils, respectively to King’s proud and reserved Swiddles.
The Catch is definitely worth seeing. It is unpretentious in its approach to character and form, letting the strength of its script and its actors shine through. There’s an earnestness to the play that is utterly disarming. It reads as an ode to a community dying out, even in its most comic moments. Many of its performances at ERT have already sold out, something well deserved, but if you don’t manage to catch it here, Other Lives is taking the production to Withernsea, Bridlington and York in the next couple of weeks, so there are plenty of chances to get a ticket.
[Hannah Hobson – Theatre reviewer]
