'Pomona' Orange Tree Theatre ****

Should theatres experiment with comparatively different productions that they do not usually present? The Orange Tree Theatre's current play, Alistair McDowall’s, ‘Pomona’ was one that the venue has done wonders with. The play is completely delightful as the performances are beautiful. ‘Pomona’ was originally staged at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama this spring is set within the mysterious and gloomy surroundings near the M 60 ring-road, however there are solemn and destructive powers ahead. Pomona is an actual location, which is an island in the middle of Manchester where it's isolated by canals and one footbridge as a way to access this worrying island. The production is centred around the character, Ollie, who is frantically searching for her twin sister, who has recently become missing. She then comes across Zeppo, a quite unsavoury person, who is dressed in practically nothing but a vest, coat and underpants. Furthermore, he's a volatile individual as with the majority of the characters within the play. Progressively, throughout the performance there is a sense of intrigue when a somewhat disturbed youngster, Charlie and enigmatic loner, Keaton as the two of them play a childish game called, ‘Dungeons and Dragons’, as well as, the game creates the atmosphere of mystery especially when Keaton decides to wear a particularly disconcerting mask as a way to depict the terror of what's occurring beneath a deep drain, which one does not want to spoil it for you. There is a definite sporadic nature in terms of how the flow interconnects through a story of a dystopian environment where everyone is being controlled. McDowall’s narrative is exceptionally chilling as the concept of a world in which not everything is what it seems is somewhat challenging, but this is in a positive way. One found the performances by the company of ‘Pomona’ were impressively captivating, due to the fact that the voice and movements were excellently portrayed, and there's a sense of clear camaraderie between the company. Nadia Clifford is brilliant as the investigative sister, Ollie; in particular when she's pleading with people to aid her in a quest to find the missing sister, also her vocal range at this moment was excellent too. Guy Rhys is dazzling as the supposed tycoon of Manchester's underworld, Zeppo; singularly his obsession with McDonald's chicken nuggets was vastly comical, additionally, his intensity in not only the voice, but movements was superb. Sam Swann is charming as the geeky gamer, Charlie; explicitly when we learn that due to a lack of appropriate qualifications due to his naughtiness as a schoolboy, he cannot obtain a genuine job, which instils a sense of compassion for him. Ned Bennett's direction is heavenly here as he's enabled one to feel incredibly mesmerised by how this quite discombobulated world can impact on how people communicate with one another; moreover, the developments of the characterisations were impeccable too. Georgia Lowe’s design is alluring as you are immediately engrossed into a world that does not appear to be entirely truthful, and that the textures and the aroma within the auditorium made one feel quite uncomfortable, and complimented, stunningly by Elliot Griggs’ lighting design and Giles Thomas’ sound design.  Overall, one found the experience of ‘Pomona’ to be a fascinating one and definitely recommended, and most likely to succeed in this years’ Offies.