Pomona, dir. Alistair McDowall The Royal Exchange (October 29 – November 21)
Pomona is now a famous part of Manchester. An inexplicable wasteland in the space between Manchester City Centre and Salford Quays, accessible from only a few choice entrances, it has become a place that certain people in this city are willing to fight for and protect. It has become almost legendary. There are plans to develop apartments on this piece of land that was once Pomona Pleasure Gardens, but these plans have met major resistance from botanists and other interested parties who recognise that Pomona is now a thriving and diverse environment which may well deserve preserving in its current state. This seems like a very ‘Manchester’ story. Pomona as a kind of underdog; the spirit of the city taking up arms to protect it.
So it’s perhaps surprising, then, to find out that Alistair McDowall’s play based in and named after Pomona actually sprang to life at the Orange Tree Theatre in London. There is something so Mancunian, so Northern, about the story of this strange part of the city, that it feels almost wrong to imagine it being enjoyed elsewhere.
But then, as the play itself develops, you realise that it isn’t actually about Pomona or Manchester. Yes, it is based there. And yes, it is clear that the mystery of Pomona, the many possible narratives that this place with no streetlights, no homes, and many holes in which you could hide provides, was an inspiration for McDowall, and a key part of developing his strange and dystopian narrative. But really, this is a play about the margins, the dark possibilities that cities still provide. And as all dystopias must necessarily be, it is an exploration of how the society we live in now could develop in the near future. Despite how much Pomona is now loved by many in Manchester, it’s almost unexplainable existence does seem like the perfect setting for such a story.
So, to the story itself. We open with Ollie (Nadia Clifford), a young girl who has come to Manchester to find her missing sister. She is asking questions of Zeppo (Guy Rhys), a man who claims to own the city, while a strange figure with an octopus-like mask covering her whole head sits centre stage. It is a very otherworldy and disorientating opening, which sets out a stall for the following ninety minutes. Ollie asks more and more questions of Zeppo but receives only mystical hints in reply. Those hints suggest that Pomona might be the place to look for this missing girl, but that Ollie might be better off not knowing where she is or what has happened to her.
We then flick through various fast-paced scenes which deepen the mystery and ramp up the fear. We have Gale (Rochenda Sandall) who is instructing her staff to track down one of her old employees and ‘take care’ of them. We have Moe (Sean Rigby) and Charlie (Sam Swann), two security guards who at times bring comic relief, but who also might hold the key to the plots main questions. What exactly are they guarding on the island of Pomona? What are the vans that drive past them carrying, and why are they heading deep into the tunnels? And we have Charlie’s other life, where he organises role play games that nobody attends. Until Keaton (Sarah Middleton) appears, and the two bond over an invented story that seems a little too similar to the narrative being borne out on stage. And then there’s Fay (Rebecca Humphries), living in a brothel to escape a violent husband, and showing a character who looks a lot like Ollie around her new room.
It’s an awful lot of characters for a play that runs for roughly ninety minutes, but the speed of the scenes, and the intricate way in which McDowall has woven his tale, eradicates any problems this could’ve caused. In fact, as we switch from scene to scene, linkages between all of these intriguing characters emerge. Disturbing possibilities for where the story might be taking us become apparent, only to be pushed aside by something more sinister still. And, as all great dystopias should, the final scenes leave us with as many questions as answers. These are questions that this review won’t try to answer, because it wouldn’t be fair to ruin that experience for future audiences.
Suffice to say, they are questions that will stick with you for a long time after the curtain closes. This play might have sprung from a Manchester mystery, but it is one that can be enjoyed by the masses. While the most impressive element might be the multi-layered sculpting of the script, accolades must go to all of the actors, particularly Swann and Rigby, who made a possibly confusing piece of theatre both coherent and captivating. Whatever your knowledge of Manchester’s wasteland, this play will appeal to all who like to spend the odd evening on the dark side or dwelling in the underground tunnels of their mind.
Fran Slater