Hank of Thread – Receiver

Written By:Daniel Fraser

Director: Jimmy Sutcliffe

Receiver is part of the Fringe Festival and themed around a series of phone calls, some of which, when answered by Claire Fisher (the central character played by Lorraine Chambers), have people on the other side of the line and some have no-one there (but at times one can hear heavy breathing or feel the suspense of someone trying to make contact).

This created a feeling of suspense and tension throughout the show, amplified by the disjointed music and sounds used. As an audience member I did not know whether it was trying to explore the isolation some people can feel in old age, a woman starting to loose her reality through dementia, the experience of someone with a mental illness, the complications of communication in modern society or simply, as the show was described, of “something out there and it wants to chat”.

The characters were played well, especially Chambers, who’s portrayal of the confusion and fear that Claire Fisher was experiencing was compelling. The main telephone used was a red, 1960s style phone. I spent most of the show focused on this phone, in anticipation and dread of it ringing. Towards the end of the show, around 6 other phones on stage started ringing as the urgency of “something wanting to make contact” intensified. These phones then took on a life form of their own as they looked to achieve their ultimate goal…

The show ended very abruptly and left me with a number of questions including what it was really trying to say/explore and who it was that had been trying to make contact all along.