Origin Story, the debut production from new Manchester based theatre company Cup on Strings, arrived on stage earlier this month for two nights at arts venue 53two.
Starring Ben Goulding, Callan Mckernan, Alice-Marie Smith and Olivia Moulding, with a script written and co-directed by Goulding and Harry Roy Morris. Origin Story sparkles with the promise of talent displayed by these Arden School of Art graduates.
The drama-comedy begins with a phone call between Emily (Smith) and Ava (Moulding), who we later learn is Kurt’s ex-girlfriend. That is followed by a burst in the form of our hero, Kurt (Ben Goulding) barrels into his shared flat with the belief he is bulletproof and a gun to prove it. Against his better judgement, Dan (Mckernan) humours Kurt until Emily (Smith) pushes to bring Kurt back to earth.
Origin Story is refreshing in its output, a particular treat for me as I hadn’t seen art on stage in over two years. The play is delightfully funny and the humour is amplified through sharing that space with the performers and audience. Origin Story is figuratively and literally surrounded by films and comic books, but the story never suffocates from those intertextual references of another art; Origin Story is a story for the stage and the stage alone.
What also thrives on stage are the people serving the story. Goulding, Mckernan and Smith have so much symmetry together. In pairs and as a trio, they elevate the already great screenplay. Kurt is far from your average hero, but there is certainly a desire for heroics. Dan does a poor job of playing disinterest to Kurt but Mckernan’s barely disguised rapture is the highlight of his great comedic performance. Smith’s weariness as the only sensible person in the group could be felt all the way from the back of the theatre.
The two genres of the play are evenly split between each half of the play. The first half is definitely the half that made me laugh the most, buoyed by Kurt’s antics and Dan’s jests. When you finally find breath from laughing, the first half of Origin Story will have you losing breath again when it ends with a bang. The shock reverberates through the second half but we are soothed with the tenderness and hope. Smith shines particularly as the heart of the group and the play as she pleads for understanding. The pleas of all three characters ring a little louder in this half; Dan’s plea for peace and Kurt’s plea for a listening ear, even if they lead him to dangerous places. There is a slight mirror in the second half to the first; the more dramatic half of the play ends with one of Dan’s beloved quips. It is a reward for the emotional turbulence, a small but significant slither of hope.
While there is no display of superpowers in Origin Story, this debut shows a great deal of strength in its humour and its heart. The power in our everyday comforts and our dearest relationships beats any fantasy.
Origin Story performed for two nights on the 1st and 2nd of February. For more on Cup On String Productions, follow them on Instagram.
Image credit: Cup on Strings Productions