University of York School of ACT Presents: Parliament Square by James Fritz

02/01/2025

Alexandra Pullen reviews third year BA Theatre students’ production of the Bruntwood Prize-winning political play

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Image by Ella Tomlin

By Alexandra Pullen

Content guidance: This play, and therefore this review, contains discussion of violent scenes which some readers may find distressing (including a suicide attempt), depiction of severe injuries and sexual references.

“Can the actions of one person ignite change?”

This is the question at the heart of Parliament Square, a “brutal yet empathetic” political play which explores the complexities surrounding the determination to make a difference in a spiralling society. We follow Kat (Hannah Blakey), “an ordinary woman with a job, a husband [played by George Light] and a young daughter” who travels to Parliament Square and carries out an act which changes the trajectory of her life, and the lives of those around her.

Walking into the Scenic Stage Theatre on Campus East, I was immediately curious about the set and staging of the play. It was performed on a thrust type stage (sticking out into the audience and being surrounded by spectators on three sides) and had two steps which elevated most of the stage. The set design, courtesy of Kira Thomasson and Francesca Di Giorno, consisted of a skyline-type backdrop made up of white quadrilaterals layered on top of one another. Downstage centre there was a grid embedded into the floor which was mainly used for the purpose of effective lighting.

The play begins on the morning of Kat’s journey to Parliament Square. Blakey did a great job in portraying the protagonist’s conflicted emotions during this time, but particularly her desperation to make a change in the world. On the way, she bumps into a work friend, hilariously depicted by Elly Nisar, and is constantly joined by The Voice (Blossom Harrison-Hales). Harrison-Hales masterfully and effortlessly spurred Kat on in her endeavour, I was captivated by her performance with her vocal projection being very impressive (especially when opening the play by shouting Kat to get up) and her movements appreciating each square inch of the stage.

I spoke to Blakey about her process after getting a script. She said, “ I read the play at least three times to make sure that before I even think about the role that I would want to audition for, I know the play well. I then write a list of themes or really important aspects of the play. I keep these in mind throughout the whole process. I then read the whole play aloud to get a feel of the language and the writing style. This allows me to immerse myself in the play and start to concentrate on the characters.”

After travelling to Parliament Square, Kat’s act of protest materialises as she sets herself on fire to attract the attention of the people around her. In this moment, the lighting from the grid, designed by Gemma Crome and Ellis Coombes, was impossible to ignore as blazing colours of orange came shining from below to represent the flames. Kat is saved, to her annoyance, by Catherine (Lianna Rowlinson). Throughout the play we see how Kat and Catherine’s lives become intertwined through an experience which cannot be unwitnessed – but while Kat gets to the point where she tries to forget, Catherine can’t help but remember what happened on that day in Parliament Square.

Discussing the rehearsals with one of the show’s co-directors, Harry Marshall, he said that the third year students had “been working for 10 weeks, starting with an exciting and explorative research and development period to begin with, before running through and piecing the play together scene by scene.” It was evident that the production was a well-oiled machine, with smooth and polished transitions between scenes.

A particularly impressive section of the play came in Act Three, towards the end, where there were several time jumps. We saw glimpses into Kat’s life progressing, through the signifier of her daughter’s birthday. Despite the repetition of ‘Happy Birthday’ being slightly jarring towards the end, it was an impactful way to present the passing of time and the growing age of characters. Particularly Kat’s daughter Jo, played by Blossom Harrison-Hales, who clearly showed these time jumps through her changing mannerisms, body language and facial expressions.

Caitlin Sydney, co-director of Parliament Square, told me that this montage is her favourite part of the play: “The last third of the story is told through 74 mini scenes which switch and change and flow through fifteen years and it’s been a lot of fun (and work!) constructing how they run into each other. Building pace and slickness with the actors has been central to nailing this part of the show and I love watching it zip through time and space and propel the story towards the end of the play.”

Of course, an important theme in Parliament Square is that of protest. It is uncertain throughout the play what Kat is protesting against which leaves some gaps in the narrative, but Blakey argues that this lends itself to the freedom of expression that the Theatre students had with their adaptation: “It’s important to acknowledge what the play might be trying to say but because there isn't a specific topic outlined by Fritz we have chosen to address the importance of protest. This is so that the audience can find their own interpretation of the work.”

This level of audience engagement in the sense of the play’s ambiguity was frustrating at times, as my curiosity was piqued by several things which were not fully revealed by the end. For example, when Kat first decides to set herself on fire, she writes a letter to her mother (Maddie Cox) to share with the press. It is revealed that her mum keeps hold of this, and even though the production dedicates an entire moment to Kat sitting downstage centre with a spotlight on her while she holds the letter, though its contents are never shared.

Overall, the Theatre students of the University of York portrayed an engaging and interesting adaptation of James Fritz’s protest play, even if some parts of the plot felt like they had something missing. While some narrative gaps were for the purpose of ambiguity and personal interpretation, it felt as though there were some loose ends to be ties.

In a time when protest is so prominent across the globe, it was great to see a creative expression of the topic in Parliament Square. To close my discussion with Hannah Blakey, I asked about the importance of creative subjects when technology is advancing at such a rapid rate: “Most people forget that art and creativity is everywhere. Our world is made from artists and visionaries – creative ideas that couldn’t be replicated by AI software. In my opinion, the world needs to be reminded that it should be an equal balance of academic importance and creative flare and that one is no more important than the other.”