Dawn
Sitting in a peaceful garden far from her home in the city, Nadine looks around in awe at nature and the world. Her best friend, Dawn, has just given birth to a beautiful baby boy and Nadine cannot keep the joyful smile off her face. Nadine can think of nothing better than settling down with her beloved Darren and having babies, so she can't understand why Dawn is so depressed about the whole experience. She puts it down to Post-Natal depression. Dawn has more than post natal depression to contend with though, she is a single teenage mother without prospects, with a secret she has kept from everyone including her best friend.
This Runner up for the Kings Cross prize for new writing, is a lovely, if rather predictable, play. Louise Managhan, Dawn's writer, has a strong grasp on human feelings, emotions and the mess of life. Admittedly there were moments of super saccharine lines that just didn't fit and during the second half there was a lot of unnecessary moving back and forth on the stage, which only detracted from the tense atmosphere. Yet although the play exists on one level it doesn't need to pretend to be anything 'deeper', its bluntness only adds to its sparkle. It is a realistic look at the contemporary relationships between lovers and between friends, with good performances from all members of the cast.
A true gem.

Transfigured
Horses' hooves on the stairwell? A girl chaining herself to the ceiling in an act of escapology? A security guard dressed up as a butler? A librarian playing with ghosts in the archives? What on earth is going on at the British library?!
     Winner of the Kings Cross award for New Writing, Debbie Jones has gone all out in her play about the wonders of Kings Cross and its illustrious library.
      A rather well dressed widow comes in to the library to learn; her reason for being there is her husband, whose death has driven her to books. His death certificate is, she thinks, proof enough of her need for a library card.
      A guard meticulously lays a table, he puts on white gloves and a white cloth hangs over his arm. He is training for a future career as a butler. Having set his sights on one of the new hotels being built, he trains nightly to perfect his skills.
      A cast of eccentric characters and the odd ghost or two make up 'Transfiguration'. It is a play that parodies the different characters that the library attracts, each drawn to a place full of concentrating minds, each having a fantasy to play out.
      Debbie Jones' work is highly imaginative, each character having some strange destiny to fulfil. Although her writing shows much promise, the characters in this production were rather unbelievably portrayed: the security guard running after imaginary horses appeared to be the most normal character there. It positively made you think that all library goers are mad, and let's not go into the portrayal of librarians!
      Whilst it is rather strange and at times too wordy, Transfigured is a lovely little play.
Elizabeth shenton