A week after my first visit to Etcetera Theatre, I returned to see Hands On, a new play by Valia Katsi, directed by Nasia Papadopoulou and produced by Amy Shields.
Walking through the door, we were individually greeted by a character (Anastasia Thiras) who handed each person a small gift and she then spoke to a few people in the audience. At this point it became clear she was some kind
of psychic medium, and this was such an engaging start to the evening. The medium was connecting to one of the main characters in the show itself, Katerina, who used to live in Greece, but in the ‘present day’ is deceased.
Mari, Katerina's daughter (Valia Katsi), is essentially the main character in the show, and she’s questioning everything that has led her to the current time. Through a series of scenes that are from the present day, her past, and flashbacks to her parents when they were younger, we find out about her life, her confusion about her heritage and her feelings of not really belonging anywhere entirely.
David Martinez and Catty Tucker both played multiple characters (including Mari's dad and his current girlfriend), which were actually very different and the performances were very distinct for each.
Joana Arifi was a larger than life presence on the stage, impossible to look at without smiling as her delivery and facial expressions were so funny at times.
The set was fairly simple, partly made up of cubes that were sometimes used to sit on but also lit up in different colours depending on the scene that was taking place. These were a really good choice for this play.
There was a distinct contrast between emotional scenes, for example when Mari was questioning her mother’s life choices and pretty much everything else, and the absolutely brilliant humour in the show. There were jokes aimed at both Greek and British cultures, but these were good natured throughout, and the mixed audience seemed to enjoy both equally. At times there was even some speech in Greek, however as someone who does not speak the language this did not detract from my understanding of what was going on.
The curtain call of this show was one of the most high energy curtain calls I have ever seen, the actors pulled their creative team up to join them and they all seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. This definitely showed that this talented group of people are enjoying what they do, and their joyful celebrations meant you left the room on a high note.
This play is still in development but from what I saw during this performance I would predict it will become a must see show. The story is thought provoking, and in this form the cast was outstanding and the humour was top notch. Bravo!
⭐⭐⭐1/2
Hand’s On was part of Voila Theatre Festival, which has now finished.
If you would like to see more of my photographs from this and other shows, please visit my Instagram.
I was gifted a ticket for this show in exchange for an honest review.
