Argos Archives is a new play written by Sabrina Mahfouz and Thrive Creatives and directed by Caroline Bryant. In this 70-minute production, a self-conversation is achieved by three actresses together.
Before school finishes, Woman (Shakira Newton) finally has some time to herself. She is about to turn 30 this year, has autism and ADHD, and is raising her 4-year-old son, who also has autism, by herself. Although she wants to become an archivist, that goal is still a bit far away for her. So she decides to start by working at her favourite store, Argos. To be successfully hired as a store assistant, Woman begins to think about what she can do to prepare herself. She is not alone in this - she has two friends in her head - Archives and Argos - who help her organize her thoughts. Archives (Jess Gough) is sensible and calm and is responsible for recording objective facts and information. Argos (Eleanor Nawal) - named after the hundred-eyed giant in Greek myth who sees everything, and shares the name of Woman’s favourite store - is more lively and unstable, and remembers Woman’s past interactions with people. After the discussion with Argos and Archives, Woman decides to relate her experiences to the Argos’ catalogue and prepare a unique way of answering the questions for the interview.
The set (Lu Herbert) is quite interesting. In the middle of the stage is a large, irregular carpet with variously shaped boxes stacked on either side. Each box has a little label attached to it, from memories of each year to 4:00 a.m. novel ideas. Looking at the boxes, it seems like you’ve entered the world in Woman’s brain, and you feel drawn to opening each box to see what’s inside. At the back of the stage is an irregularly shaped screen (Charli Davis and Sophie Bramley), and as the three recall memories, the screen reflects the corresponding imagery, sometimes keywords from their conversations, sometimes images of Argos’ merchandise, sometimes raindrops from Woman’s memories...
The whole piece seems to be a process of preparing for an interview, but in fact, it is a journey in which Archives and Argos help Woman to reconcile with herself. By the end of the piece, Woman admits that she is hoping to find a friend and that she hopes her son, who has the same difficulties, will be able to find his companion as well. Both the subject matter and the way it is presented are reasonable and interesting, but it’s a pity that the individual events seem to have been quickly flicked over without enough detail and depth.
It is a very creative idea to link goods and music to memories, but they are not yet closely connected to Woman’s past. If more attention could be given to the fragments from each year, or if Woman could re-enact the scenes alongside Archives and Argos, the emotions expressed in this story could have been more poignant and healing.
Argos Archives runs at Omnibus Theatre until 15th March 2025.
★★★☆☆ (3*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Lidia Crisafulli
Comments