Southpaw Junction: Time Frame

A radio conversation between a Mayday-ing fighter pilot and a female radio operator back at base; a bride and groom on their wedding day; a couple discussing photography in an American bar; a lovelorn cowboy sniffing his beau’s shirt. Time Frame presents us with a series of romantic tableaux from Hollywood, and then skilfully undercuts the clichés with wry and playful asides.

The show, conceived and performed by Southpaw Junction, three recent graduates from De Montfort university, engages its audience from the off, involving us in the creation of each scene they present. The fourth wall is repeatedly broken, and the actors are extremely naturalistic as they discuss how the play is progressing. They also display fine comic delivery as they bicker over the direction scenes are taking, and engage in rambling monologues on the stages of relationships.

For example, the second scene features a bride and groom, recruited from the audience. They sit side by side, each taking direction from a member of the group. As the scene progresses, they seem progressively more downcast, until the third group member interrupts, with a rambling monologue on the progress of relationships:
- ‘This is supposed to be the happiest day… two months ago, you’d never met, now you can’t bear to be apart… eventually, you start wondering whether he’s listening… and then there’s the comfort-eating and binge-drinking, and you’re lying in bed alone… then you start eating healthy, and seeing your friends more… and you forget they ever existed’.
-‘Ok, I think we should move to the next scene. Are you ok? Do you need a moment?’

Taking audience members for each scene is a brave move, especially for such young performers, and it could easily misfire. However, Southpaw Junction create such an intimate and friendly atmosphere that they avoid any embarrassment. By the end, their volunteers are suggesting ways to expand their roles, and collaborating in their scenes.

The performance has an air of lovable charm and bumbling amateurish, but is clearly underpinned by tight scripting, skilful performance and intense practice. Time Frame has been one of the surprise highlights of Not Part Of festival. It has a genuinely feel-good air, and packs plenty of highlights into a short running time. This is a really promising piece of theatre, and I would strongly recommend catching Southpaw Junction when you can.