Possibly to accommodate a large cast, director Roni Ellis makes an unusual choice for the staging of I Don't Want to Play Anymore by removing the formal stage at the Salford Arts Theatre and seating the audience on three sides of the performance area. So: theatre in the (almost) square.
Libby Hall’s ambitious script examines the arbitrary nature of life, especially the way in which apparently unconnected and inconsequential events might have a knock-on effect and build towards a tragic climax. A group of teenagers organise a party to celebrate the return of one of their group. But not everyone is happy, and tempers rise.
A narrator figure is empowered by a Devine Being to compel each member of the party to take part in a game in which they are quizzed about their desires and habits and to give them an, apparently random, reward. But the rewards are double-edged and have a grim irony; an inheritance arises because of the death of a beloved grandparent.
The game imparts lessons about the complexity of life, such as learning to balance income and expenditure, addressing an obsession with cosmetic surgery and coping with the capricious way in which a parent might suddenly pass away. As the quiz continues, the impact of events upon the narrator becomes horribly clear.
Author Hall seems uncertain as to how to foreshadow a major twist in act two so as to give the audience clues without giving the game away. As a result, act one is too cautious and becomes obscure, leaving the audience confused as to what has happened rather than intrigued as to what might arise in act two. Whilst act two impressively ties up the loose ends, the effect is that of explaining the plot developments to the audience rather than giving them a chance to guess.
Director Roni Ellis struggles with the unwieldy nature of the first act. The naturalistic tone of the party which opens the play does not merge smoothly with the heightened reality of the scenes built around the quiz game. As a result of avoiding giving away the twist, act one becomes a series of unexplained events. Ellis builds up the impact of each event by ending almost every scene with the cast breaking off and striding around the stage to assume different positions. The technique soon wears out its welcome.
The play is performed by members of Salford Arts Theatre's Young Actors Company aged 12–19 years old. They cope well with the demands of the complex script, with fragmented and occasionally overlapping dialogue, and the physical demands of the play. The cast are in constant movement, striding briskly around the stage without colliding and occasionally stepping backwards as if in a rewinding film. However, such a large cast gives rise to practical problems such as identifying each character and remembering their names.
The rapid scene changes and flashbacks suggest I Don't Want to Play Anymore might work better as a film than on stage. It certainly succeeds as a showcase for the talents of the Salford Arts Theatre's Young Actors Company, but the first act would benefit from revisions to clarify key developments.