On Saturday 15th, in another exciting first for me here at Wheelie Stagey: I was invited to a public dress rehearsal of a play called MEAT written by playwright and dramaturg Gillian Greer at the Soho Theatre. It was a finalist in Theatre503’s International Playwriting Award in 2018, where it reached the top 5 out of an incredible 2055 plays that were submitted!

The synopsis for the play reads thus:

When Max pays Ronan a visit at his restaurant in Dublin, he’s determined to prove to her how far he’s come, but she’s got something bigger to discuss. Over the course of one wine-soaked evening, old wounds are exposed and new truths uncovered. MEAT is a story of class, consent and how modern Ireland reckons with the transgressions buried in its past. How can one couple navigate their shared history when their memories don’t quite match up?

This play has everything I enjoy: it’s a cast of three so already it’s incredibly intimate, and at its core is about people, relationships and the choices we make. I much prefer plays like this, almost character studies rather than action packed, they’ve always just resonated with me more. MEAT deals with some very heavy themes, especially around sexual assault, but does so in a very clever and sensitive way, and there’s flashes of humour in there to undercut the tension that’s constantly simmering away.

At the time, the cast and crew were only three days away from technical rehearsals. It was a rare treat to see what this cast have done with the play and their characters so far knowing that the efforts and creative process is still ongoing, and that the piece will grow and develop.

I used the phrase rare treat because it sadly rings true for me: I don’t get to see enough fringe theatre. This is usually down to two major factors: the first is I don’t often hear about it. That’s easily changed on my part to a degree as I can make more of a concerted effort to look for it, but the second factor is far more problematic: the lack of disabled access to the venues in which they’re performed. Though MEAT will eventually run at Theatre503 which I can’t access, it gave me so much joy to know that a creative team wanted to put on an event like this to try and combat the problem – I wish more producers were as thoughtful! I understand a whole host of factors influence venue choice, but it gets increasingly tiring when access feels like an afterthought, and would love to be a part in changing that!

The cast: India Mullen, Sean Fox and Elinor Lawless are immensely talented and I look forward to supporting them in future, and a massive thankyou to Emily Carewe, the play’s producer for inviting me along!

MEAT runs at Theatre503 from the 19^th Feb until March 14^th – get your tickets here.