Urgent! A Timely Play Mini Review (Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse, Sheffield)

29 June 2024 I 19:00 I Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield)

[star rating not applicable]

As Urgent! A Timely Play opens a double show day at Sheffield Theatres' Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse, I will not publish a full review as a result of it's first public performance. However, I want to use this opportunity to praise Nicole Joseph's play, performed by a blindingly talented group of performers represented by Sheffield People's Theatre's Youth Company.

Urgent! A Timely Play centres around Jude, a university drop out who gains access to a time portal, finding out that death is imminently close upon a Doomsday clock. In a series of vignettes, we see the highlights of Jude's future, displaying the transience of life in endearing motifs. Rich with a distinct array of personalities, Joseph's writing is witty and charmingly funny, each cast member really refining unique characters to sink their teeth into. The Sheffield warmth of community envelops this hour long play, offering a familial experience we can all identify with.

There is a wonderful theatricality to Urgent!, featuring the likes of storytellers and breaking the fourth wall. I would not suggest this performance entirely breaks apart the expectations it sets for itself, though I admire the recognisable comfort. Factoring in elements of the tragic, I leave the theatre with such a vibrancy, an optimistic view to life that challenges my own attitudes to the world.

Transitionally marked with diverse songs, from impeccably heartfelt solos to ensemble work abundant in human connection, a show lightly scattered with music defines what it means to treasure the life we own. These moments leave me emotional, in fact more than large scale productions, where an intimate traverse stage space becomes a pressure cooker for the anxieties of young people. Ultimately, from a local production, audiences desire authenticity and honesty, which is exactly what the scripting delivers.

For a first showing, I heavily praise the entire team for Urgent! A Timely Play, deserving of a future to build on this evening's success. Performances like this will continue to inspire audience both inside the creative industry, and in our daily lives. I have no doubt that I will be returning to a Sheffield People's Theatre staging very soon, and I suggest everyone considers a trip down.