Forever in Your Debt
Press Quotes
Hereford Times: Tuesday 16th February 2010
"WHEN there's no way out and no way back, there's always a trip to Long Tall Sally, a high rise office building on the edge of town, the last resort of the desperate who choose its roof as the launch pad for a journey into the debt-free, stress-free hereafter.
"But anyone heading up the 40 flights of stairs has reckoned without Vera, the cleaner determined to stop the would-be jumpers. When an entire family appear on the roof it's the final straw for Vera and she pulls out all the musical stops to save them - "better a song than a scream" after all.
"In Forever in Your Debt, a co-production from Foursight Theatre Company, Warwick Arts Centre, Talking Birds and The Courtyard, the recessionary tale that unfolds is a bleak one, drawn from true stories heard throughout the company's devising process, of a family torn apart by debt as a mother fakes her death in an avalanche, a neat metaphor for being crushed by the collapse of her empire of ‘shops of tat'. The father turns to drink and the daughters are left to their own devices with disastrously damaging consequences, but Vera still sees hope and the band plays on.
"Slightly confusing at the outset, as the story moved around in time, the unfolding tragedy quickly took hold and swept the audience along to the accompaniment of music, song and a helicopter hovering above the high-rise.
"Foursight can be relied on to provide thought-provoking, visually stimulating theatre and Forever in Your Debt at The Courtyard last week didn't disappoint - it was a vibrantly inventive and satisfying piece that perfectly caught the spirit of the age, and demonstrated that debt isn't just about money"
Oxford: Daily Info Friday 5 March 2010
"Vera, the night cleaner, loves Long Tall Sally, a 40-story derelict building in the heart of Oxford. From the top you get the best view in town, surrounded by twinkling stars. If only people would stop trying to throw themselves over the edge.
"The dedicated cleaner believes that music and song can overcome the problems of the four troubled souls who make their way to the top of the tower - which, by the way, is mid-way through being demolished. Sadly, the four, who turn out to be a family, are not so sure and are struggling with their lives, all profoundly affected by a cycle of debt and destruction.
"Mum's business collapses and she fakes her own death. Dad plunges her life insurance money into sailing and rum, before having a sex change - apparently a legal loop hole allowing him to leave his financial failings behind. Harriet, and her sister, Rita, end up in a children's home, but escape to live on the ‘dark streets of Oxford'. In turn, both rack up debts - Rita through Internet gambling and Harriet by borrowing money from a local loan shark.
"Unfortunately, the worst is yet to come. Rita, riddled with gambling debt is forced by the local shark to turn debt collector - against her own sister. Broke Harriet begs her sister for mercy, but to no avail as Rita sets a pit-bull terrier on her, ravaging her face and body. All four-troubled family members are reunited on top of Long Tall Sally, but can Vera's attempt to keep love alive through music ultimately succeed?
"Starting near the end of the story, then jumping back to the beginning, the play was a little confusing until you grasped the timeline and understood that the play was a story within a story. Vera and her rehearsing ‘band' - a violinist, a bassist, an accordion player and a clarinettist / saxophonist depict each family member - telling their story through music and song.
"The cast were good musicians as well as actors and it was refreshing to see instruments played on stage. Their singing was fantastic, with rich harmonies and real emotion in every number, really adding to the story and meaning behind each song.
"An exceptionally clever, well written and presented production that managed to balance the serious and hard-hitting story with some much needed light-hearted and humorous moments. You're guaranteed to leave the show with your mind reeling - really thinking about the consequences of debt."