Powerful tale is absolutely electrifying

REVIEW: Power of Worcester: The Play – The Hive Studio, Worcester.

Showtime! stars rating: * * * * *

THE front of the programme for Steve Wilson’s thought-provoking new play poses the question - do stories have the power to make a difference?

Well, there can be only one answer to that. For the chorused reply from capacity audiences attending the weekend’s production of this intensely absorbing work by the talented St John’s, Worcester playwright most certainly must have been… YES!

Power of Worcester: The Play explores Worcester’s important and pivotal role in the history of electricity, but there is much more to it than that. For this is a multi-layered and metaphorical look, by the writer, at the many facets of power.

The clue most certainly lies in the play’s title, and one that is examined in all its forms, because Wilson cleverly juxtaposes the energy of human inventions – this being the creation of the gargantuan former electricity generating station in Hylton Road, Worcester – with the smaller, but perhaps no less powerful driving force of human resistance to the potential injustices of arbitrarily imposed change.

The play starts in the future year of 2029, and Amber (Corinne Leigh-Hewitson) is staging a solitary protest after the powers-that-be decide that a children’s playground must be dug up after some resource or other is discovered beneath the ground on the site of the long-demolished power station.

Clearly Worcester’s answer to Greta Thunberg, Ms Leigh-Hewitson hits us full in the face with a spirited and powerful – yes, it’s that ‘p’ word again – bombast that never lets up for a single, frenetic moment.

She assaults the senses with her rhetoric and leaves you in no doubt that no prisoners will be taken in this particular battle. Truly fabulous stuff.

This being a sit-in protest, Amber must rest at some stage, and so nods off in her chair. It is not long before she is visited by several characters who can only be ghosts from the past.

The first is that of Alfred Rowe, the architect of the power station, erected in 1902. Ben Calvert excels in the role, and also that of future designer one R Rudd, and finally as Amber’s dad. Talk about multi-tasking.

Nevertheless, his most entertaining incarnation is that of a smarmy 1950s advertising executive, oozing enough grease to start a chip shop and then some.

Adding no small degree of poignancy to the story is Rebecca Sharp in various roles, the most moving by far portraying the late 1940s poverty-stricken housewife Sarah, grubbing about the power station for bits of coal in the dead of night.

Once again based on a real person, Amber thankfully raises the alarm when, presumably through fatigue, a weary Sarah absentmindedly leaves her baby behind.

The shifting time sequences maintain the play’s tension throughout, while the central message – that of the relatively powerless individual’s destiny being at the mercy of decisions imposed by the powerful – is a timeless theme which Steve Wilson has explored with great subtlety, panache and style. Truly a masterpiece in poetic observation.

So. The power and the story… how this play came about

Earlier, I asked project director Debbie Birch of Crave Arts about the play - and how it began to take shape.

She said: "The play is the result of a lot of research into the power stations of Worcester and the wider electricity story of the city.

“This research was undertaken by our project partners but also ourselves. We ran workshops with different community groups, which had their own memories of the power station in Worcester.

“All this research was taken to creative sessions where we worked with Sight Concern, HoW College and members of the public to generate material to help shape the play. 

“Thus, the play The Power of Worcester is a culmination of all this work. Steve has written it, but in effect it’s combining the work of the whole project. It's become a subject dear to our hearts!”

Writer and Director, Steve Wilson is one half of Crave Arts. Together with Ms Birch, they’ve created and run The Power of Worcester project, as well as many other arts-based projects in Worcestershire.

Steve has been writing plays for more than 20 years. He has also directed and performed at many theatres across the country and runs creative writing workshops in Worcestershire.

He’s really enjoyed working with so many communities and partners on this project and has relished the opportunity to bring so many memories and so much history to life.

Steve lives in Worcester with his family and 'stubborn dog'. Apparently, he gets a lot of his dramatic ideas from supporting Spurs!

The Power of Worcester project is supported thanks to funding from National Lottery players and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, as well as the Elmley Foundation, and various other organisations.