Symposim Hall
Aug 22,24,26 (19:15)

Hodie Mihi, Cras Tibi

The dramaturgical work of Nia Williams was my gateway drug to my, in recent years, growing appreciation of Gilbert & Sullivan. I have accepted the inevitable & will now readily admit, I am a fan – & there’s nowt wrong wi’ that. I mean, her plays are not light opera at all, but the influence is definitely there.

Nia’s creation of Dexter is an ambitious project – I’d seen her Verity before, but we now see Verity’s fiance in a fantastically clever spin-off play all of his own. They are to be married, y’see, & while Verity (Jenna Elliot) is fussing & worrying over every tiny detail of the approaching nuptials, Dexter (Chris Jonstone) is fussing & worrying himself sick as to how he’s going to pay for it all now he’s lost his job.

Thro a world by pepper’d by bathbombs & peanut brittle, the play ticks over at an excellent pace, with our leading two being accompanied by an excellent supporting cast. The dialogue is snappy, inherently human & all the songs are great – I love the dissonant two-voice, three–voice, all-voice harmonies which pour from Nia’s mind to dance around the enchanting note-conjuring of her dancing fingers. The music is provided solely by Nia’s keyboard-piano, but the general effect is a sound much more than the sum of it’s spider-dancing index parts.

The story works its way out against the backdrop of the company of fraudsters to which Dexter had gravitated to in his desperate need for money. Along the way we meet other members of this workforce, who have their own sub-plots, while Verity’s supporting role, altho’ lacking the character depth of her own play, is still a pleasant watch & excellent listen.

My favorite moment was at the Hen Party, when from my angle at the far left corner of the room, all the ladies appear’d like Queen in the video Bohemian Rhapsody, rendering yet another of Nia’s superb multi-vocal’d, interweaving cantata. All-in-all, Dexter is a very modern play, perform’d with precision, & is, I think, an improvement on Verity, tho’ it’s been a while since I saw it. Nia is definitely onto something, here & I hope we get a third installment to complete the possible trilogy!

Damo