Patterns

'Patterns' by Daniel Loveday, Cygnet New Theatre

This play highlighted a key things about live performances for me. Tech when done right isn't usually commented upon because it is a background element, but when it is done wrong then it can ruin a play. For the first half of Patterns the male detective didn't have his microphone turned on so you couldn't hear what he was signing, and throughout the entire play the electric piano was far too loud, it tended to overwhelm the voices of both actors, even with the microphones on.

Anyway, leaving aside technical misjudgments, the play itself was billed as a 'musical thriller'. This made me very wary from the beginning. Musicals aren't usually thrillers for a good reason, it's hard to maintain tension when your characters tend to burst into song. Actually I wouldn't describe it as a thriller, or even a murder mystery. Even for those not raised on a steady stream of Agatha Christie stories as a child, it must be obvious pretty early on who the killer is. So in a way, it is more like 'The Secret History' by Donna Tartt in that you know who the killer is and you're watching the build up to his crime, learning the 'why' rather than the 'who'. There was a slight twist at the end of the story, but not enough to make it truly dramatic.

As for the musical element....don't get me wrong, I love musicals when they're done right. But this one missed the mark. I think the key is to choose your song topics very carefully. There were some good song moments - the wistful explanation of the first murder, but there were also some cringe-worthy moments - a song about fighting over a packet of spaghetti.

Overall, the cast should be given credit for learning the whole thing in less than three weeks (the previous cast members pulled out suddenly), but the whole thing just seemed very amateur.

**

Patterns has one more show in Sidmouth, details here: http://www.patterns.uk.com/ (the fact that music starts playing automatically when you open this website, and there appears to be no way to turn it off, kind of sums up the whole thing for me)