Beyond Hurtwood: Edinburgh here we come!

Sincere Hurtwood congratulations to Cohen Rowland and Zaria Jankelovitz-Gelvan as they leave us. Alongside earning themselves Oxbridge offers and working flat out to achieve, hopefully, the requisite A Level grades, they have each written extraordinary plays, recruited their peers to perform in them, brought them to performance and – phew – are about to take them to Edinburgh. And not only have they directed and produced said plays, but they both perform in them. They are also, as it happens, both lovely generous people: very different and driven, I suspect, by varied shaping forces, but united by incredible talent with words and ideas. They also share a complete commitment to the power of art to communicate and illuminate our troubled human experience. At the risk of cliché, they represent everything Hurtwood hopes to achieve and the many opportunities it offers. Stand by to be impressed; get ready to applaud.

So Cohen’s play For Eva is the product of many years of imaginative input and reworking; indeed he arrived to take up his A Level studies 18 months ago, with an impressively polished script well in hand. Exploring the anguished layers of human longing for love, acknowledgement and meaning in a disconnected world, this is a project very close to his heart, and work on it has continued throughout his Hurtwood time. A hugely talented actor as well as writer, Cohen has been likewise blessed by the remarkable abilities and commitment of his peers, who have brought his ideas to the stage. Audience emotions were channelled through sometimes excruciatingly painful moments of anger, frustration and fear within a setting suggestive of a womb-like natural world of water and wind. Inner imaginative encounters clash with the pragmatic everyday world, producing moments of high tension. There is a sense that this piece is still evolving: with tighter timing, and more visual clarity of the ideas and issues enacted by this skilful company, this play has the potential to enlarge consciousness. His cast of actors – a truly impressive array of solid talent - showed not only complete commitment to this complex attempt to give shape and form to the search for meaning but produced some breathtaking moments along the way. Bravo.

Sharing some of the actors, Zaria’s play positioned us literally Around the Table, exploring women’s lives and relationships through the spectrum of societal and personal expectations. A polished, pacy and impactful engagement with modern sisterhood and feminism, this play examined many dilemmas of the contemporary world. At the heart of the action is a consideration of female roles – friendship, family and love. Fast-paced, but with enough bandwidth to engage at times with character and choice, the audience is drawn into complex and troubling agendas: gaslighting, eating issues and domestic abuse. As with Cohen’s play, the superb acting abilities of the company were off the scale, leaving a lasting impression that surely some of these actors will one day see their names in lights. Tight direction, sharp choreography and repeated symbolic motifs – those ubiquitous suitcases – maintained focus and narrative, leaving us ultimately still ‘round the table’ of nurturing human interaction, but with a richer sense of involvement.

Both these short plays opened a window onto Hurtwood talent and persistence. All those involved have absorbed invaluable lessons about agency and the responsibility that comes with it. Good luck with your runs in Edinburgh, Zaria and Cohen – we could not be more excited and proud of you, your teams and your talents. Hurrah for creativity and those brave enough and committed enough to share their talents with the wider world.

Good luck in Edinburgh to:

Round the Table

Ella Keller , Martina Cabral Terro, Clancy Hanna-Barron, Zaria JG, Freya Davies, Emilia D’Adda, Will Tarpey, Amber Benn/tech.

For Eva

Zaria Jankelovitz-Gelvan, Gabe Nagy, Clancy Hanna-Barron, Emilia D’Adda, Lukas Carlen and Will Tarpey.