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Wordplay was produced by a 3rd year company of BA Acting and Theatre Production students from Bath Spa University called OnSet Productions, who brought to life three scripts submitted to them by TheatreLab, a Bath based new-writing development community ran by Kerry Irvine, lecturer at Bath Spa University. Ed Viney, a former director in residence at The National Theatre Studio, workshoped these scripts written by Lavinia Roberts, Roy Proctor and Kate Danney. What I would like to commend all involved with the project was how the event was set up. There was a clear focus of letting the scripts speak for themselves and between each extract there was a short interval which gave the audience time to reflect on each script individually. The relaxed but professional atmosphere seemed to create the right vibe in which to present new writing. An idea for the future maybe to have the writers available for conversation over social media to give the audience the opportunity to ask the writers directly about the direction they plan to take their work. The first extract was from 365 Last Suppers by Lavinia Roberts. The first scene saw a questioning of two modern art pieces between the galleries curator Penelope (Charlotte Smith) and Thalia (Cate Holmes) the galleries security guard. The theme, which I took from this, was the questioning of modern art and particularly how the viewers and exhibitor’s focus seems to be the appreciation of the concept but not of the artistry, the person who comes up with the concept but not the crafters who create the physical elements. This became evident in Thalia’s point that it was not stated who made the yarn for one of the modern art pieces based on the seasons and from the second scene between Penelope and Cybele (Gena Goldfield) the crafter producing the plates. All the actors presented clear characters, with crisp diction and who worked tirelessly to bring out the comedy which provided necessary lightness to arguably a quite often heavy subject. The second extract from Couples by Roy Proctor was a one-act play based on short stories by Anton Checkhov. What I took from this production, as someone who is not very familiar with Anton Chekov’s work, is that the relationship presented despite having the potential to win a lot of money through the lottery, was a relationship in tatters where both did not picture the other in their dreaming about what they would do with the winnings. The script also engaged with the theme of ownership within a relationship. Connor Allen’s portrayal of Ivan Dmitritch brought out the viciousness, and misogynist quality of the character and both he and Gena Goldfield worked incredibly well together to present this fractured relationship. The final extract from Building Madness by Kate Danley, was a comedy based on office politics and office romance at an Architecture practise on the brink of collapse, arguably brought about in part by the unorganised ditzy receptionist Trixie Fuller (Cate Holmes). What I really liked was the juxtaposition between the larger than life characters of the Architecture practise and reporter Ruby Deleon, and the more subtle softer nature of Gwen Gladwell (Sophie Turner). This worked really well to amplify the comedy of the architecture practise, filled with innuendo and puns. All the actors involved with Wordplay were confident in the material they were performing, enabling them to look up from their scripts and include gesture and interaction between other actors on stage which really helped to engage their audience. All in all, a brilliant event, providing the rare opportunity to see new work in the developing stage. Wordplay is a monthly event and the next instalment will be on the 7th February 2015. If you would like to know, more about how you can get involved with Theatrelab visit www.theatrelab.org.uk or message Kerry directly on info@theatrelab.org. uk. Be sure to keep up to date with details of all Theatrelab’s upcoming events by visiting www.liveartsconnect.co.uk where you will also find links to all of Theatrelab’s social media.