Concluding Sheffield Theatre’s first Roundabout Season is Penelope Skinner’s debut play.
The Sound of Heavy Rain begins on a dreary London morning with the disappearance of cabaret singer Foxie O’Hara a
nd her friend Maggie Brown’s desperate search for her. Maggie employs the help of private eye Dabrowski who, though at first is peevish and reluctant, finds himself drawn to the mysteries of both women.
Meanwhile, the one-sided conversation of an elusive, suspicious man interjects Dabrowski and Maggie’s narrative, and he carries with him a bag – “a bag big enough to hold a body”…
Under the careful hands of director James Grieve, Penelope Skinner’s The Sound of Heavy Rain is an outrageous amalgamation of wit, suspense, drama, humour and surrealism – and it works, it really works.
The film noir nuance of the theatre room upon entry is created by an unsettling amount of smoke and is only heightened by the unusual seating of the circular amphitheatre, in turn making the audience feel involved in this unsuspectingly humorous who-dunnit.
Andrew Sheridan as Dabrowski is brilliant. His handle on the drunken, mercurial, subtly genius private eye certainly brings life and comedy, and it is his character that the audience wants to see more of. Accompanying him is the affable Maggie Brown, played by Maia Alexander, who is a joy to watch. Her unconventionally unglamorous appearance and naivety offers a beautiful quirk that makes The Sound of Heavy Rain more of a tribute to the 1950s detective film era, rather than a parody.
Kate O’Flynn has more demanding roles, however, in Dabrowski’s depiction of Foxie O’Hara and Lou, his ex-girlfriend who imagined-Foxie takes influence from. These dual roles portray Dabrowski’s
expectations and realities of love, and O’Flynn manages to bring strong individuality to both of them. Her singing provides a stunning transition between daydreams and reality, which definitely leaves the audience in captivation – a note-worthy characteristic of the elusive catalyst that is Foxie O’Hara.
Rounding off these actors is Alistair Cope who plays the suspicious Graham. His presence is wonderfully contradictory, as Graham is a man based on our bland (most would argue realistic) perceptions of life, unhappiness and losing your ambitions. However, this character is far more multilayered than that, but that would be giving away the fantastic twist of the plot. Suffice to say that it is Cope who gives the most striking performance, one that quite honestly leaves the audience breathless.
The Sound of Heavy Rain cannot really be categorised. Its blend of old school film noir is contrasted with the modern day locations and references, which only adds to the few but highly surreal scenes.
Think singing, think disco balls and neon lights, but mostly think a huge sing and dance number – one which is pretty marmite, you’ll either really love it or really hate it. Almost undoubtedly, this eccentric take on detective stories will surprise and uplift even the biggest sceptics of low budget, intimate plays – it cannot be recommended enough.
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