Reviews​

The Guardian, 15/8/2022

★★★★

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Family drama glows in the darkness... Alex Howarth’s hugely moving play has plenty of humour and a homemade aesthetic, while asking tough questions about parenting and the law.

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When Cassie and her younger sisters are on a family bowling trip, their mum goes to buy slushies and disappears. Cassie is used to her erratic behaviour and covers as usual, reassuring Tin and Kit that she’ll return any minute. Except this time she doesn’t, and Cassie has to keep up the role of parent for months not minutes. The uncertainty remains a constant.

Alex Howarth, directing and designing his own drama for the company Patch of Blue, stages this episode as a play within the play. That it’s told with a sock puppet, a cuddly toy and Mr Potato Head, with the neon bowling alley popping up inside a suitcase, reveals a lot about his production’s homemade quality. On a set framed by a sheet and a washing line of clothes, this show authentically springs from the children’s sticky-fingered world. You sense the ice-cream dribbles and the Pritt Stick residue on Kit’s forehead from a school experiment gone awry.

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With extremely affecting, delineated performances, Alex Brain (Cassie), Michaela Murphy (Tin) and Emily McGlynn (Kit) guide us gently through the story as seen from each child’s perspective. Kit, the youngest, focuses on the presents Mum might bring back from her “holiday”; Cassie sidelines her teenage dreams and shifts straight into multitasking middle age.

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The adult characters are either heard in voiceover (for social workers and foster carers Mark and Alice) or, most powerfully, represented by the audience (when Cassie makes the case to us that she should become her sisters’ legal guardian). We are directly asked for our own notions of what makes a family. Mark and Alice are kind even if their house doesn’t smell like the girls’ own; Cassie knows her sisters inside out but is it fair on her that she should take full responsibility for them? Repeatedly, the play asks: what is enough for one person? And what is too much?

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This difficult material, taken from true stories, is handled with off-centre humour. Mark “thinks Ariana Grande is something you get at Starbucks”; Kit lets an audience member wear her frog hat during an upsetting scene. Ellie and Imogen Mason’s electronic music, played live, heightens the lighting design by Rachel Sampley. A constellation of sources capture the glow of sisterly support while also (at one point literally) catching them in the headlights.

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The script’s potent metaphor of the trinary star system could afford not to be repeated at the end but this is a thoughtful, warm, hugely moving hour that will leave you wanting to call whomever it is you think of as family.

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Lyn Gardner, The Stage, 12/8/2022

★★★★

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Patch of Blue's theatrically inventive story of sisters in care bursts with life and quirkily observed truths

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Cassie, Tin and Kit's mum said she was going to buy the three of them a slushie, but she didn't come back. It's not the first time she's disappeared. In the past,17 year old Cassie has held the fort so adeptly and with such love that her much younger siblings have barely noticed their mum is gone and before long, she's back again. 

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But this time it's different. Mum has completely disappeared and soon social services are knocking on the door. The trio are whisked away to foster parents Mark and Alice, a kind couple who shop at Waitrose and feed the children couscous. They want to adopt the young sisters. How can Cassie compete? 

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Inspired by a real story and interviews with children in care, Patch of Blue's play is reminiscent of Little Bulb's early show Crocosmia- not just because it features abandoned children and live music, but also in its sharply observed insights into children's minds, its playfulness and clever shading of light and dark. 

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The performers step in and out of the play and yet they always draw you back into the heart of the story as Cassie decides to put university on hold and fights for the right to look after her sisters. 

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The show would benefit from killing a few darlings. It often feels as if writer and director Alex Howarth has bunged every good idea he's ever had into the production. But better too much than too little. This show bursts with life and quirkily observed truths, and it's guaranteed to break your heart. 

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The Stage, 8/4/2024

★★★★

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Blazing performances and vivid writing illuminate this musical story of an unconventional young family.

 

Alex Brain is devastatingly good as Cassie in this gut-wrenching tale of a northern English teenager desperately trying to retain care of her two abandoned sisters. She would be reason alone to see this London outing of the 2022 Edinburgh success, which draws on the real-life accounts of children in care. But writer Alex Howarth, who directs his own highly charged, aesthetically lo-fi production, elicits strong performances from all three cast members, as well as a team of well-established names providing voiceovers to literally faceless authority (among them John Thomson and Louisa Harland). Furthermore, Howarth makes use of an affecting aural and visual poetry drawn from the most unlikely of sources. Meanwhile, Imogen and Ellie Mason’s cutting-edge music for synthesiser, guitar and voice, played live, underscores the action, heightening momentary flickers of happiness with warm synth washes, or emphasising emotional distress with a musical fizzing suggestive of shorting circuits.

 

Seventeen-year-old schoolgirl Cassie is struggling to pay bills and ward off social services, but her chief concern is keeping her bright, effervescent sisters content at home and on track in school. Whether interacting with her siblings, responding to unseen adults, or reading out a letter, Brain as Cassie is utterly natural. Emily McGlynn also impresses as malapropping, biscuit-loving, seven-year-old Kit, punctuating the gloom with moments of sparky Alan Bennett-esque humour; her dawning realisation that mum is unlikely to return is intensely moving. Helen Chong, meanwhile, brings an almost unnerving intensity to bookish 10-year-old Tin, head buried in Dickens’ Great Expectations when she’s not gazing awestruck at the stars, where she has located a “trinary star system", bound together by mutually interdependent gravities.

 

However, the close orbit of the sisters is threatened when officialdom compels compliance with a trial stay at the home of wealthy potential foster parents. Cassie is determined to jump through legal hoops to retain guardianship – even if, with time and money now at her disposal, there’s a chance of pursuing her dream career in media production.

 

Howarth’s arresting imagery takes the play away from the tropes of hopelessly dour domestic realism. "Even when the lights are on it feels like it’s dark," says Tin when sleeping over in a stranger’s home. In the neon glare of a local bowling alley, where the sisters can stay warm, save on bills and remember their mother, Kit feels as though she’s in a cosy “colour bath”; during a later argument, bright lights seem to rage “like fire”. 

 

Ruth Badila’s set of stacked suitcases reminds us of the ongoing precariousness of the siblings’ situation, while video designer Rachel Sampley’s projections of constellations and the girls’ technically accomplished social media posts amplify the sense of a universe of possibility. So much talent blazes in this production; and Brain’s star burns brightest of all.

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Broadway World, 6/4/2024

★★★★★

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‘a shot to the heart’

 

There is a genre of theatre that should be called pure heartbreak so that Cassie and the Lights could fit in one. We might meet Cassie when she’s 16 and her sisters Kit and Tin and seven and six years, respectively, but their journey begins long before this point. When their mum abandons them at a bowling alley, the eldest thinks it’s just another blip and everything will be resolved soon. She takes her sisters back home and implores them not to mention their mother’s absence to anybody at school. She feeds and dressed them, so when they’re fostered by a genuinely lovely couple, Cassie decides she's the one who should have custory of Tin and Kit. Can a teenager become a parent to their siblings?

 

Written and directed by Alex Howarth based on real conversations with kids in care, it’s a shot to the heart. Profoundly moving in its bittersweet playfulness and candid approach to the subject, the production is scrupulously crafted to come off as child’s play. It exquisitely translates the world as if it was seen through the eyes of children, engaging into a blunt direct address that gives an atypical accessibility to the show. Alex Brain (Cassie) guides Helen Chong (Tin) and Emily McGlynn (Kit) as they tell their story. In doing so, she opens up the pretence into the audience, making their crowd part of the stagecraft in a succession of sweet instances.

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It’s a delicate type of storytelling that strips unconditional love and arbitrary pain down to its purest forms. Howarth writes a friendly and conversational script that contains an underlying sadness in all of Cassie’s exchanges. She is fiercely protective, with an astounding sense of responsibility, hellbent on preserving their mother’s reputation for Kit and Tin’s benefit. Her dedication to them is, ovbiously, to her own detriment. Brain shakes the ground with the intensity of her performance; she is a harrowing sight for anyone who has younger siblings.Brain introduces an incredibly mature young woman who’s grown up to be hyper-vigilant and who’s now struggling to keep it together. She’s there for her sisters’ every need, but who’s there for hers? Her portrayal is remarkably sincere and lifelike.

 

By her side, Chong and McGlynn are relentlessly amusing in their childlike state. Yes, having adults playing children is often a bit jarring, but they maintain a shockingly strong standard. Their worldview comes to life with outer space analogies and an emotional attachment to a headband that looks like a frog, delivering performances that are sneakily devastating under their coat of perfectly calibrated humour. 

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Howarth sets his piece up with a multimedia angle, adding live music composed by Imogen and Ellie Mason and projections that take over the stage to generate physical responses from the company. Ruth Badila sets the scene in a sort of limbo, with clusters of pastel coloured suitcases all over - a beautiful way to imply the unstable nature of the girls’ situation. Fundamentally, the project examines the very notion of family and one must be made of stone to leave the show unaffected.

 

All That Dazzles, 7/4/2024

★★★★★

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‘the future is bright for this illuminating masterpiece’

 

Southwark Playhouse seems to be the place to be at the moment when it comes to exciting new shows. While its sister venue currently has an encore run of Police Cops and recent show The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is getting a West End transfer imminently, the littlest of the three spaces is currently playing host to a new show that has already generated a buzz in New York and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Will Cassie and the Lights shine just as brightly for London audiences?

 

Created and directed by Alex Howarth, Cassie and the Lights is based on real-life events and interviews with children in care. It tells the story of teenager Cassie who has to look after her two younger sisters when her mother disappears. With her protective instinct kicking in, Cassie fights to care for them on her own, but with foster parents wanting to adopt them, will she keep her family or find a new family forged without her in the picture?

 

The intimate space of The Little at Southwark Playhouse, Borough is the perfect setting for Cassie and the Lights. This is a story that requires a real connection to the story with the ability to see every facial expression and even interact with the small cast integral to the impact of this. From the informal way the cast enters the space before the show starts, saying hello and asking the audience questions to ways they get them involved (with their consent) and break the fourth wall to mention what is coming next in the play, the result is a unique and distinctive portrayal that is refreshingly accessible.

 

Alex Howarth takes great care in how this story is told with a naturalistic approach that feels more conversational and adds to the intimacy of the piece. Luring you in slowly without knowing all the facts, you become very involved so that when all the pieces fit together, the emotional response is slightly unexpected but very deserved. Charming at parts, cute and sweet in others, and heart-wrenching in others, the one consistency in the writing is the high quality which never waivers from start to finish. Whether it’s some funny payoffs or some truly emotive and hard-to-watch sequences, Howarth’s writing astounds at every opportunity. With the show lasting no more than 70 minutes, it is incredibly impressive how such a deep and textured story is allowed to unfold and breathe in a relatively short amount of time.

 

Having both written and directed Cassie and the Lights, Howarth clearly has the right idea on how to tell this story in the most impactful way and that is clear to see with the playful and poignant direction that punctuates the lines, scenes, and overall story. Ruth Badla’s scenic design has a fun use of props which add a childlike wonder perfect for the story, with a great use of video and integral use of lighting both by Rachel Sampley (with lighting at Southwark Playhouse by Will Monks) elevating the story even further.

 

A play with music, Imogen Mason and Ellie Mason create some wonderful compositions that add to the effects of the story, particularly in the tender musical moments that feature sporadically, performed by Charlotte Schnurr at this performance. While not a musical in the slightest, this is a great example of how plays can feature music effectively without overpowering the story or proving to be inconsistent in tone.

 

Alex Brain leads the three siblings as Cassie with a commanding presence, rich in their portrayal, full of effortless charm, emotion, and a whole lot of heart. Their embodiment of Cassie feels authentic and urgent as we feel every bit of Cassie’s plight to look after her sisters and can almost feel the weight on her shoulders. Alex is a true marvel to watch, combining all of this in a multilayered and heavily nuanced performance that holds the key to the message behind the story.

 

Helen Chong gives a sweet performance as Tin, getting her own musical moment and proving what a talented and versatile performer she is. Emily McGlynn completes the trio of siblings as Kit with a loveable childlike innocence that reveals itself to the trauma of the unfolding situation in a performance rich with texture. The key success of all three performers is their ensemble work as they all gel phenomenally well, lifting each other and creating a bond that feels real, so you almost forget you are watching theatre and not reality – a testament to both the writing and performances.

 

Cassie and the Lights is a shining example of how theatre can convey a powerful message while also entertaining. Profoundly moving and a show that deeply affected me, regardless of how much you can relate to the situation at hand, there is something deeply human about this story and this is beautifully represented in its shifting tone from innocence to heartache, A truly incredible feat of writing, flawlessly matched by its trio of wonderful performers, this is a vital piece of theatre which has an unrivaled ability to make you feel and your heart hurt with empathy for the characters. It’s clear to see why audiences and critics have fallen in love with this show in the past – you can add me to the list of this show’s fans. One thing is for sure – the future is bright for this illuminating masterpiece.
 

The Reviews Hub, 7/4/2024

★★★★★

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‘Alex Howarth’s unmissable work may only be 70 minutes long, but it remains in your heart for far longer’

 

There is a reference early on in this play about three sisters’ experience of the care system to Tracy Beaker. Alex Howarth’s work builds on the same foundations laid out by Tracy’s creator, Jacqueline Wilson, using comedy and love to tell stories involving immeasurable amounts of pain.

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Cassie and the Lights tells the story of teenager Cassie (Alex Brain), who has to take care of her younger sisters, Helen Chong’s astronomy-obsessed 10-year-old Tin and hilarious-but-clingy 7-year-old Kit (Emily McGlynn). When the girls’ mother walks off, leaving them at a bowling alley and never returning, Cassie tries her best, but eventually, social services find out and place the trio with a foster couple.

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Howarth’s approach sees the three girls re-enact key moments from the most turbulent year of their lives with a warmth and humour that immediately bridges the actor-audience divide. Ruth Badila’s set design, battered pastel suitcases that open up to reveal props, sets or spaces for projected images, echoes the combination of playfulness and discomfort at knowing that the girls’ future is uncertain.

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Chong and McGlynn, each called upon to play a young child, produce performances that really convey the spirit and optimism of two young girls whose older sister has successfully shielded them from what life has thrown at them. McGlynn, in particular, revels in the juicily written role of Kit, milking the comedic innocence and the pain that simmers within with levels of humour and empathy that remind one of Victoria Wood.

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The most visceral part of the story is Cassie’s, though. When their foster placement becomes longer term, and the prospect of adoption is raised, Brain skilfully and heartbreakingly explores the conflict in a seventeen-year-old who feels that she should be the one looking after her siblings, even when her own life and those of her sisters might suffer if she does.

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Adults in the scenario manifest only as voiceovers, with actors including Wendi Peters, John Thomson and Louisa Harland lending their voices. There is a distance there, the sense that the grown-ups in the girls’ lives are too far away to give them what they need. We also get a sense of how the bureaucracy involved in Cassie’s application to formally be her sisters’ carer, however well-intentioned, places her at an immediate disadvantage in ways that inflict so much pain.

But as Cassie and the Lights deals with the trauma and heartbreak inflicted on three children in ways that affect so many others in the care system, it also manages to demonstrate that bonds made of love are unbreakable. Alex Howarth’s unmissable work may only be 70 minutes long, but it remains in your heart for far longer. Jacqueline Wilson would be proud.​

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Theatre Weekly, 6/4/2024

★★★★★

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‘a complex and heart-breaking story, guaranteed to bowl you over’

 

Following successful runs at Edinburgh Fringe and 59E59 as part of the Brits Off Broadway Season, Alex Howarth’s Cassie and the Lights comes to London for a limited engagement at Southwark Playhouse Borough.

 

This one act play follows the eponymous Cassie, and her siblings Tin and Kit. Their mum went to buy slushies and hasn’t been seen since. But this isn’t the first time it’s happened, and the trio fall into their well-worn routine that sees Cassie as the leading star guiding the younger children’s trajectory. Astronomy buff Tin has an optimistic view of how this disappearance will turn out, but the children can’t keep their secret for long, and are soon fostered by Mark and Alice. While certainly well intentioned, caring and able to provide for the girls, Cassie believes that caring for the family is her responsibility and begins exploring the idea of becoming their legal guardian.

 

Using a twist on the play within a play construct, Cassie and the Lights gives us parts of the story from Mr Potato Head, a sock puppet and an elephant. But that’s just one method, from a loop pedal to gameplay, it reflects childlike storytelling because, despite being adult actors, the cast are portraying vulnerable children. Indeed, any adult characters that do feature are in voice over format, because it’s the voice of the child that needs to be heard here.

 

Howarth’s engaging script is informed by interviews with real life care-experienced individuals so it feels authentic. So much so that it leaves the audience torn, we know the foster parents can give the girls a better life, but we’re also seeing with our own eyes just how much Cassie loves them.

 

It’s a tight knit cast, who succeed in creating this magical like world where children’s innocence is pitted against real world bureaucracy and the harsh realities of life. Helen Chong as Tin and Emily McGlynn as Kit are particularly effective at playing the younger characters, mixing with the audience pre-show and asking us what we want to be when we grow up. McGlynn and Chong also succeed in giving each of the girls distinct personalities which are utterly charming.

 

Alex Brain wonderfully captures the adolescent Cassie, carefully balancing the weight of responsibility with the desire to live a more conventional life. In the scenes where Cassie writes to her mother, Brain makes the room crackle with emotion.

 

The cast are accompanied by a rotating trio of onstage musicians, which includes the co-composers. Occasionally delivering the odd line of dialogue, the musician of the night provides a varied score from Imogen Mason and Ellie Mason, which is both hopeful and frenetic, reflecting the emotional arcs of the characters.

 

Cassie and the Lights, which is also directed by Alex Howarth is beautiful in its simplicity, but underneath the childlike facade is a complex and heart-breaking story, guaranteed to bowl you over.

 

Theatre & Tonic, 6/4/2024

★★★★★

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‘Cassie and the Lights is, to put it simply, perfect theatre.’

 

Following rave reviews and critically acclaimed runs in New York, Australia and Edinburgh, Cassie and the Lights has landed at Southwark Playhouse Borough for two weeks. A touching story of loss, love and family, this is not one to be missed. 

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Cassie and the Lights is based on real-life events as well as interviews with children who are in the care system. We follow Cassie (Alex Brain) and her younger sisters Tin (Helen Chong) and Kit (Emily McGlynn), who have found themselves in the care system after their mother disappears. Cassie fights to care for her sisters herself but finds herself fighting her way through the legal system all while foster carers are keen to adopt her sisters, fading Cassie out of the picture.

The story is told in a very sensitive and simple way, from the viewpoint of each sister, evoking many emotions. Cassie is used to her mum’s behaviour, used to going to the pub down the road to collect her and make her come home. She is used to going to a local bowling alley to keep warm when the electricity is cut off. Tin and Kit are used to their mum being away for a little while, but always coming back. They’re used to Cassie playing mum, and caring for them. It’s a heartbreaking watch, made even more difficult by knowing the show is based on true events. We totally understand why Cassie wants to care for her sisters, despite the confusing and frustrating legal procedures, but we really root for her to think about herself. To follow her dreams. To go to university. 

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Staging Cassie and the Lights in a smaller theatre space is a great move. Facial expressions and gestures are key here, bringing the show together. Being able to see Cassie up close, beaming and radiating pride when she sees her sisters all dressed up for the school disco is a gorgeous, emotional moment. Seeing Kit’s face contort as she sobs her heart out reminds us that this is a very real situation for children out there. The intimate set up also allowed for a great, informal beginning to the show where Tin and Kit would speak to audience members and ask their names. This was very sweet to see, oozing childhood innocence.

 

The set is made up of suitcases, which double as screens with dates and pictures of the sisters displayed. Lights are used extremely effectively throughout with bright shining lights used alongside dimmer lights for those – literally-  darker moments. I especially loved the projections of constellations, a lovely dreamy feel. Music is present throughout; not overpowering but amplifying the more poignant and tender moments. Using voiceovers for the ‘grown ups’ in the show is brilliant, eliminating additional cast members and ensuring the focus stays on the three sisters.

Last but no way least, the cast can only be described as perfection. There is absolutely nothing I can fault with any of the performances. Helen Chong and Emily McGlynn’s performances are so sweet yet moving, perfecting the childlike way of telling stories. Alex Brain’s performance as Cassie is both enchanting and heart wrenching. 

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Cassie and the Lights is, to put it simply, perfect theatre. There is not one thing that I can find fault in, instead being in awe of this wonderful production. May the lights continue to shine on Cassie, Tin and Kit as this show continues its journey.

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Adventures in Theatreland, 6/4/2024

★★★★★

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‘a beautifully moving piece of theatre that asks the hard questions’

 

Cassie and the Lights illuminates the stage with a moving narrative based on real-life events and interviews with children. On a family bowling trip, Cassie's (Alex Brain) mom disappears after going to buy slushies. Cassie, used to her mom's unpredictable behaviour, tries to reassure her younger sisters, Tin (Helen Chong) and Kit (Emily McGlynn), that she'll be back soon. But this time, she doesn't return. What follows is a 70-minute drama portraying Cassie's unwavering resolve as she steps into the role of a parent for her sisters, amidst their mother's disappearance. To complicate matters, things swiftly spiral out of control, leading them to be placed under the care of two foster parents, Mark and Alice. Created and directed by Alex Howarth, this intimate production unfolds as a play within a play, inviting audiences into the tender yet tumultuous world of these siblings.

 

While the material might be dark and heavy, it also shimmers with light, humour and lots of love. The play strikes a delicate balance between the seriousness of care-giving and playful banter, with sensitive and nuanced writing littered with popular culture references from Ariana Grande to The Power Rangers, reflecting how children see the world.

 

The strength of the piece lies in the relationships between the three sisters; touchingly authentic right from the start. However, it is Kit’s complete obliviousness to the reality of their situation that highlights the burden on Cassie, making the emotional scenes so heart-breaking to watch. Brain delivers an outstanding performance as Cassie, navigating the emotional complexities of shouldering the weights of adult responsibilities at such a young age. Alongside Chong and McGlynn, the trio gently guides the audience through the story, offering insights from each child's perspective. 

 

McGlynn shines in her portrayal of impish Kit, always ready with mischievous and unpredictable remarks. Chong, bright-eyed and bubbly as Tin, finds her fascination for science, especially astronomy, mildly side-lined by a growing interest in boys, particularly one in her class. Both Chong and McGlynn are extremely endearing and deliver solid performances, capturing childlike qualities and playful innocence. Brain, phenomenal as Cassie, excellently portrays the struggles of balancing adolescence with the desire for a normal life.

 

The adult characters, voiced over and symbolically represented by an audience member (in a scene where Cassie makes the case to the audience that she should become her sisters’ legal guardian), serve as a reminder of the challenges faced by children and young people navigating a world designed by and for grown-ups. Through Cassie's impassioned plea to become her sisters' legal guardian, the play confronts the politics of the legal system and the complexities of familial bonds.

 

The music really shines here. Co-composers Ellie and Imogen Mason's live electronic music, combined with Rachel Sampley's evocative lighting and video design, enhances the pivotal moments. The soundtrack immerses the audience in the highs and lows of the drama, amplifying its impact through various soundscapes and the creative use of loop pedals and vocals by the cast to create harmony. Ruth Badila's set design, comprised of stacks of suitcases, serves as an excellent metaphor and raises poignant questions about home.

 

This is a beautifully moving piece of theatre that asks the hard questions. At its heart, this show illuminates the passion, resilience, and determination of young people fighting for what they believe in. The play doesn’t criticise the care sector or anyone who works within it, and it is this open space that invites the audience to reflect on how we care for and love others in this ‘scary world’.​

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Creative Reviews UK, 3/2/2020​

★★★★★

 

Cassie, Tin and Kit are three sisters fending for themselves after the disappearance of their mother, though the circumstances are surrounded in mystery early on for us as an audience. With the use of fairy lights, an old school projector, and a loop pedal amongst many other elements, Patch of Blue enchant us on a journey of sisterhood, bravery, and raw emotion that makes you want to hold on tight to those who we care about the most.

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Alex Brain embodies 17 year old Cassie, a strong minded young adult whose main instinct is to step toward as the mother figure to her younger siblings, who at the best of times are still full of imagination and wonders that we all have inhabited at some stage as children. Tin and Kit are the two sisters in question, portrayed with impeccable vulnerability and childlike mannerisms from Michaela Murphy and Emily McGlynn respectfully, and as a trio each showcase their emotions to an exceptional level of dignity and realism, whether that's Murphy's innocence of dancing with Jake at the upcoming school disco, McGlynn's breakdown on wanting her mum to return following a 'Play within a Play' segment of the production, or Brain's closing deceleration speech where Cassie urges to be the soul guardian in her sisters. Rachel Sampley's lighting and video design captures some staggering imagery throughout.

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Written, Directed and Designed by Alex Howarth, what he has managed to achieve is something quite extraordinary, leaving sniffles and tissues being produced all around come the rather uncertain future for the trio in a striking image at the final moment. Through his storytelling, Howarth allows the characters to interact with us through 'Tin Talks' and regular 'under the breath' moments from Alex Brain, which are unexpected but makes us roar with laughter. The direction flows so naturally from one moment to the next that all three performers on stage are clearly having the time of their lives with each other, even when they are squabbling when the loop pedal messes up, until having genuine delight when something seems to go perfectly right. 

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Imogen Mason and Phoebe Coco make up the final two company members on stage as the musicians in the background, who also make little cameo appearances throughout as small characters. Music is often the make or break of any production as it can sometimes come off unhinged and break away from the nature of the show, but here Mason and Coco play a variety of instruments that are cohesive with each other and drift perfectly into the action on stage; a rendition of Maisie Peters 'Place We Were Made' is even more poignant in the closing moments when the lyrics in question are mirrored with the story that we have been watching for the past hour, where one minute we are grinning from ear to ear to then suddenly feeling cold and small in feeling helpless to what's going on around us. 

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Overall, Cassie and the Lights is a beautiful tale of three sisters who care about nothing else in the entire universe than to be with, and look after each other. Though it's come to a close at Vault Festival for 2020, I cannot foresee this being the end of such a poetic production with a sensational company of cast and musicians.

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Adelaide Theatre Guide, 23/2/2020​

★★★★★

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Theatre, at its very best, has the capacity to crawl inside your bones, your soul, your heart, and stir something deep inside. A play has the ability to be the ultimate tool for empathy, allowing you to understand a perspective and experience very different from your own. With nuanced writing and complex performances, the intimacy and immediacy of the form allows a powerful emotional connection with the audience.

“Cassie and the Lights”, the latest production from the UK’s Patch of Blue, is play that harnesses this power to tell the story of three sisters—sixteen year old Cassie, ten year old Tin, and seven year old Kit—whose notion of family is thrown into disarray when their mother disappears. Using music, projection, audio recordings, audience interaction and meta-commentary, “Cassie and the Lights” is a remarkable exploration of the resilience and fragility of childhood.

The three performers, Alex Brain, Michaela Murphy, and Emily McGlynn, greet the audience as they enter, chatting and directing them to their seats. The atmosphere is informal and intimate, warm and inviting. The stage is scattered with suitcases. What follows over the next hour are a series of vignettes that depict the experience of these three girls after they’re taken into a foster home. Other characters are portrayed merely as unseen voices—the uncontrollable external forces in their lives—and music and projection is also used to great effect throughout.

The heart of the performance, though, is the interaction between the three girls. Their dialogue is natural, their performances authentic, and we go with them from the joys of eating ice-cream and preparing for a Christmas disco, to the pain and confusion of their abandonment. All three actors are superb, playing their roles with great sensitivity for the complex inner worlds of young people, and their kinship is strikingly believable. The standout is Alex Brain as Cassie, the eldest of the three who has taken on the burden of responsibility for her small and broken family, even before their mother’s disappearance. Brain is utterly captivating; all of Cassie’s turmoil is portrayed with delicacy, heart and honesty. It’s a privilege to watch her at work.

“Cassie and the Lights” is based on real-life events and interviews with children in care, and it’s clear that the utmost respect has been taken to communicate these experiences without feeling exploitative. Director, writer and designer Alex Howarth has created something truly extraordinary with this piece of theatre. It is sad and it is fun. It is delicately simple, and wrenchingly complex. It is unmissable.

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This Is Radelaide, 25/2/2020​

★★★★★

 

London-based theatre company Patch of Blue made its mark on the Adelaide theatre scene when it brought it’s play We Live By The Sea to the Adelaide Fringe in 2017, winning multiple awards during its season including Best Theatre and Critics Choice. Three years later, they’ve finally returned to deliver another truly moving play in the form of Cassie and The Lights, written, directed and designed by Alex Howarth.

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Telling the story of sisters Cassie, Tin and Kit whose mother has deserted them and in turn have been placed into the care system, the play explores the resilience of children, the fragile yet unbreakable bonds of family, and the inherent responsibility older siblings feel for their little ones. As the girls tell the audience from the outset, there are “some sad bits…but in a good way…and some funny bits…but in a good way, as most fun bits are…” and they really deliver on this promise.

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Actresses Alex Brain, Michaela Murphy and Emily McGlynn carry this heavy play with their incredible strength as actors. They deliver flawless, believable performances of their respective characters; when adults playing children can make you believe they are children you know how much talent is before you. This is only aided by the clever costuming that suited each character’s personality perfectly. Their use of stage space is excellent – all three are present onstage from the moment audience enters, and hardly ever leave the space until the end of the show. Their development of rapport with audience through fourth wall breaks, directly speaking to and asking questions of patrons, is a great touch that draws viewers further into the story.

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The set is haphazard like the lives of the characters living in it, made up of piles of old suitcases and clothes on a washing line. Props are drawn from these suitcases throughout the show to further illustrate the story, from children’s toys to balls of lights. The lighting and video design by Rachel Sampley is beautiful, using different colours and levels of intensity to vividly portray mood. The videos of the girls projected onto the suitcases and the sheet on the washing line are very well animated. The voiceovers of characters not played by the three actors, such as their foster carers and social workers, are very well performed and synchronised with the onstage action. Finally, the music written by Ellie and Imogen Mason, and played live by Howarth (because what can’t he do?) is stunning and emotive – a highlight is undoubtedly the use of the loop pedal to create a layered harmony of the three girls singing.

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Howarth has developed a truly stunning story, rich with symbolism, that is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It is an important story that is relatively untold in theatre or any form of entertainment, simply making it a must watch. All in all, if you are looking for a piece of theatre that will make you genuinely laugh, cry, think and feel, look no further than Patch of Blue’s truly moving play Cassie and The Lights.

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Glam Adelaide, 17/2/2020

​★★★★★

 

This original play, written, designed and directed by Alex Howarth, is based on real events and was developed around conversations with young people in care in the UK. Cassie, the eldest sister at 17, is played by Alex Brain while the younger sisters, Tin, aged 11, are played by Michaela Murphy with Kit, aged 8 played by  Emily McGlynn. All three young women give powerful and moving performances while remaining true to their ‘age’ – Kit is obsessed with her frog hat which is her comfort blanket.

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The play opens with Tin giving a TED style talk on triple star systems which have two stars orbiting close together and one further away which gives the whole system stability. This serves as a metaphor for the relationships of the three sisters who have been left alone by their mother. As Cassie struggles to be mother to her sisters, we hear the voice of a teacher telling her she will fail if she doesn’t hand in an animation project and her friend Donna excitedly telling her about being accepted for a Summer School they were both going to apply for. 

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Audience engagement is a key element in the production with Tin questioning someone about who is in their family – making the point that there are all kinds of families as the girls discover when they are fostered by an older childless couple. Cassie challenges the couple’s desire to adopt the younger girls in court, arguing she can look after them herself even if this means abandoning her hopes of going to university. Although the play is dark at times and moved me to tears, the love between the sisters and the humour they display offer flashes of light which demonstrate the resilience of the human spirit and the tenacity of Cassie in wanting to keep her fractured family intact. 

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Patch of Blue have again brought a not to be missed, imaginative production to the Adelaide Fringe.  

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Kryztoff 21/2/2020

​★★★★

 

Patch of Blue are no stranger to the Adelaide Fringe, returning to RCC after their previous hit, We Live By The Sea. Writing theatre that is about those doing it tough, those with that little extra challenge, or developing understanding of others’ situations seems to be Patch of Blue’s strength, because Cassie & The Lights is a beautiful follow-up to their previous outing.

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Cassie is looking after her younger sisters Tin and Kit after their mother fails to return when she goes off to buy them slushies at the local bowling alley. This isn’t anything new, but for the first time Cassie is unable to find her mother and drag her back. A loving and selfless but impoverished woman, Cassie attempts to care for her sisters herself in anticipation of her mother’s return. After a stint where Cassie attempts to make ends meet, the girls end up in foster care with a loving couple. As she attempts to win custody of the girls, Cassie starts to wonder if she’s really doing what’s right for her sisters, or herself.

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Patch of Blue have created yet another beautiful piece of theatre. Cassie & The Lights is charming, clever, and heartwarming. The use of clever set pieces and live music works well, and when the cast break the fourth wall it keeps you grounded and centred in the room. Each of the actors do a fantastic job, bringing life and a sense of realism to their characters and their stories. An engaging, touching piece of work that lives up to Patch of Blue’s excellent reputation.

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INDAILY 20/2/2020

★★★★

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What’s at stake when a child takes on the role of a parent? As a young girl fights to keep her family together in her mother’s absence, she’s forced to make difficult decisions. 

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Patch of Blue, the London-based theatre company behind the award-winning production We Live by the Sea (seen at Adelaide Fringe in 2017), returns to RCC with Cassie and the Lights, a show devised using interviews with children in care and drawing on real-life experiences in its examination of the notion of family. At its core is a recognition of teenagers’ powers of resilience and inner strength in the face of challenging life circumstances.

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Cassie, age 17, has a talent for animation and is working towards pursuing her passion at university. She loves her two little sisters and is already shouldering the responsibility for much of their care when one day she finds herself in charge of the household. It’s a responsibility she’s sure she can manage, but the social services think otherwise.

Live music, sounds, recorded voices and projections accompany the action on stage. Throughout the show, the performers use a simple selection of props (old suitcases, toys, letters) as they tell us how they’ve ended up in a strange house in a part of town very different from where they’ve come from.

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Under the coloured lights of the local bowling alley — the last place they saw their mother — the girls compose letters to their absent parent and dream of what life will be like when she returns.

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All three performers inhabit their characters with ease and exuberance and give hilariously convincing portrayals of the children. Teenage Cassie (Alex Brain) is consumed by the pressure of protecting her siblings while hiding the truth about their mother’s shortcomings. Eleven-year-old Tin (Michaela Murphy) looks forward to the school dance and knows more about stars than “almost anyone”. The baby of the family is eight-year-old Kit (Emily McGlynn), a spontaneous dancer and biscuit lover who never goes anywhere without her green woollen frog beanie.

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Like life, there are laughs as well as painful moments. When the girls are placed with foster carers Mark and Barbara they enter an upmarket world of Waitrose shopping trips, Netflix and exotic meals (couscous and artichoke hearts were never on the menu at home). What will happen, though, if the temporary housing arrangements are made permanent?

Writer and director Alex Howarth has created yet another absorbing work that explores challenging childhood events from the point of view of the child. Times may be tough for Cassie, Tin and Kit, but their strong bond holds the promise of a brighter future. Bring tissues.

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FAMILY AFFAIRS AND OTHER MATTERS 11/02/2020

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“Cassie and The Lights” had it’s world premiere during the Vault’s Festival last week – a surprisingly cool, urban, hidden set of labyrinthine space under Waterloo station. It’s only an hour long, but extremely punchy. Based on true events, the story follows Cassie (17) and her two young sisters on the painful journey they take after their mother disappears. Cassie takes on the role of “mother” and is a strong and supportive mentor for them, but is it right for her to give up her opportunities for university to look after them?

 

The play looks agonisingly  at all the options left open to them as Cassie attempts to legally adopt her sisters instead of leaving them with their foster parents, an older, childless couple. It highlights a lot of issues with the legal system and the rights and wrongs of painful decisions that have to be made. It is dark and heart wrenching but with sparkles of light and humour – at times there wasn’t a dry eye left in the house.

 

It’s as much a take on the tragic tentacles that spread insidiously through everyone and everything after a parent has bolted and yet still manages to examine what ingredients are required to make a family.  It celebrates the power of unity in extreme circumstances and a different guise. It also shows the incredible elasticity, resilience and tenacity of teenagers fighting for what they believe in and attempting to keeping the faith.

 

This is a wonderful, originally performed play whereby there is a lot of engagement with the audience. Cassie is played by Alex Brain, the two younger sisters Tin and Kit played by Michaela Murphy and Emily McGlynn. The play was produced by Zoe Weldon and Sam Brain and the fabulous haunting music is performed by Imogen Mason and Phoebe Wright-Spinks.

 

I was impressed.

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STAGE WHISPERS 21/2/2020

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When Cassie’s mum leaves them, the teenager wants to care for her younger sisters, who believe their mum is just “on holiday” – but can she really be the right person to be “mum”, or should she let foster parents create a new family?

Cassie (Alex Brain), who at 16 is the eldest remaining in the family, has taken on the role of mother for longer than just this latest disappearance. Her battle with her own aspirations, cruelly relegated by every demand from her unknowing kid sisters, is heart breaking, but the determination to take care of her family has us all hoping for the redemption she deserves.

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Tin (Michaela Murphy) is just becoming aware of the adult world: her talk on stars is from a kid who knows she knows more than us; yet practicing her steps alone before the school dance with a boy is a child anxious to know the ways of the grown-ups. Murphy’s enthusiasm and optimism is infectious.

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Emily McGlynn’s portrayal of the youngest sister Kit is astounding. Her fidgety innocence, blurted blunt truths and green frog hat make up an ideal eight-year-old. Her perfectly timed humour punches through the distress and despair.

Alex Howarth has written, directed and designed the show and the tight work of the performers is phenomenal: there’s no doubt that these are sisters who know each other’s moods and ways. There’s an informality in how the three talk to themselves and the audience outside of the performance yet without interrupting the mood or motion of the scene.

The set is a clever collection of suitcases and sheets that define no particular place, evoking how these lives are lived permanently in temporary status; this is punctuated with projections as scenes change – allowing us to catch our breath between emotions.

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This is outstanding theatre from Patch of Blue, who created the multi-award winning We Live by the Sea (Adelaide Fringe 2017) and this will be honoured the same. It’s written from interviews with children and carers and it’s a desperately sad and funny story impeccably played out by the three women, landing every wrenching blow, then picking us up with each wonderful moment.

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THE PLAY'S THE THING 3/02/2020

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This story, based on real-life events, follows the lives of three sisters – Cassie (Alex Brain), Tin (Michaela Murphy) and Kit (Emily McGlynn) – after their mother disappears at a bowling alley. Although the piece focuses on the teenage perspective of the British care system, it also acknowledges the differences within individual families, the value of these differences, and invites us to ask, what makes a family?

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From entering the space to the final bows, we are welcomed into the sisters loving relationship. Much like how Kit and Tin claim their mother “holds their hands through everything, even the dark”, the cast guided the audience through the characters’ journeys by stating what is going to happen next, which makes the story clear and easy to follow. For example, when an upsetting or emotive section began, we would be told “this part is going to be a bit sad, but you can do it”. It puts us at ease.

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The story is cleverly curated and delivered, but the beauty of the live electronic score, composed by Imogen and Ellie Mason and performed by Imogen and Phoebe Coco, cannot be ignored. The constant use of background music enhances the piece and created a strong atmosphere throughout.

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This is also complimented by the simple, yet effective set designed by Alex Howarth and Georgia Cusworth. The use of luggage, bags and suitcases really sticks out, as it emphasis the temporality of the care system and the idea of living out of suitcases. I also appreciated the washing line across the back of the stage, which is used to project images and film onto. This evokes the old phrase, “having your dirty laundry out for all to see”, as the sisters are frequently shamed by peers for their circumstances and given no empathy. This prompts hard questions, such as, “how would you support someone if you knew this was their circumstance?”.

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The piece is a great demonstration of the struggles of young people in the care system today and the prejudices that are present in society today.