Deck The Stalls

Amongst the myriad of Christmas pantos, Deck the Stalls, promises us the warmth of Christmas cheer without the added cheesiness that often accompanies Christmas shows. 

Written by Lydia Kavanagh and directed by Chloe Cattin, Deck The Stalls is primarily set in at a typical office Christmas party, using a wide-range of character comedy techniques to bring these office stereotypes to life, with humorous results. we are taken through the evening of HR Sandra’s organised fun, as Serena (Laura Rea) narrates the events and introduces us to the middle management characters of her workplace.

The understated nature of Kavanagh’s writing lends itself positively to the balance between between humour and seriousness, which creates a heart-warming feeling without tipping over to the stereotypical cheesiness and tropes that we’d expect from a story set around Christmas, as we’d typically expect from a panto or Hallmark movie. As a show centered on and told from he perspective of Serena, it’s not entirely clear how much of the over-exaggerated character comedy stems from the first-person persepctive and how much is reality, but that just adds to the element of fun as we’re introduced to the carousel of stereotypes, often with little to no redeeming qualities. And because of this, there’s an edge of just nihilism and bitterness that underwrites the show, grounding it in reality and serving as an antithesis to the Hallmark-ness of any other story. Which is probably the reason why it’s not only bearable to watch, but easily and refreshingly funny. 

The success of the show’s delivery is in Rea’s performance. She is a truly impressive actress to behold as she fully becomes each character, dropping and adopting their personas. Rea switches characters as easily as a snake sheds its skin, to the point where we fundamentally can see the many characters and conversations she’s having, giving the impression that there is more than one person onstage at any given moment. Her constant rational and observationist narration not only makes her seem like the only logical person in the room, but also creates the moments of dark humour that the show relies on, maintaining a consistent edge that is only disrupted as the show’s script tackles heavier topics of grief; segues that distract and perhaps sabotage the feeling of escapism that Rea creates.

Decks the Stalls is an enjoyable theatre show that is compeltely carried by Rea. It is difficult to imagine anyone else achieving the level of immersion that she does through her innate storytelling abilities,  knack for impressions and comedic timing.

By Katerina Partolina Schwartz

Photo Credit: Jamie McNaught