‘It’s a bit like swimming in a loch, it’s fine after a few minutes,’ says one of the stalwart crew for Allotment, to help the rain-soaked audience along. We are also told cheerfully that ‘it’s a British show with British weather’. In some ways they overcompensate: every effort is made to keep us comfortable, with ‘speed wiping’ of seats, tea and sympathy. There’s no beating about the bush with the promised scones either; these are dished out efficiently on the way in.
If the novelty of site-specific theatre has faded, Allotment injects some energy into the genre. The sights and smells of the plots slot perfectly into the narrative. Arguably, the site-specificity reaches beyond the performance too. I approached a crowd thinking this was the Assembly, only to realise it was probably ‘mums in the park’, but got the necessary location by asking a breathless American jogger whether he’d seen a theatre show.
Nicola Jo Cully and Pauline Goldsmith put in stellar performances as sisters Maddy and Dora. These characters have welly, literally and metaphorically. They do not flinch on a journey from Sindy dolls to sexual jealousy, with plenty of mud and sibling rivalry along the way. Although very occasionally the direction might not work for all sightlines, when you looked the actors in the eyes, there was no glimmer of doubt and certainly no escape.
Jules Horne’s writing breathes life into the characters and has an earthy, sensuous quality. Maddy and Dora both talk about each other and themselves in the third person, which is a nice narrative touch. However, arguably the ‘cradle to the grave’ scope of the story, with lines such as ‘time passed’ and a final goodbye, is ambitious and sometimes makes the piece oddly slight.
This show did elicit something of a personal reaction. I was quite happy to accept these women’s friendship and homemade fudge, but found something faintly appalling about their unfulfilled, childless lives. Both supported by their sister and trapped in this relationship, each insisting that they know best, it’s debatable which of Maddy and Dora killed the other first.
Site-specificity might be a harder sell these days, if people don’t necessarily want to travel, pay or get wet for a gimmick. However, Allotment succeeds in creating an unusual atmosphere with its two struggling sisters. It also leaves your mind full of varieties of potato, coriander, sweet peas, strawberries, everlasting spinach, medlar, cornflowers, flamingos and boys.