A Woman Walks Into A Bank at Theatre503

The reason that I like Theatre503 so much is that they do new plays that are interesting in the way that they are structured and in the subjects they cover and A Woman Walks Into A Bank hit both sweet spots.

The play was the winner of the 2023 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award and that was more than enough to tempt me along.

Theatre503 does crazy things with ticket prices for old people happy to sit in the front row and my seat cost me all of £6. I probably paid more for my pint of beer in The Latchmere downstairs.

I also ate in the pub beforehand, as I always almost do, and this time I hit the bar snacks rather than the gastro menu and they did the job nicely.

From the start, A Woman Walks Into A Bank uses a narrative style, much like Wolfie did, where the actors tell you what is happening before acting that scene. Much use is also made of repetition with variations and additions. I found the style engaging.

The story of the play was fairly simple, an old woman walks into a bank in newly commercialised Russia and a young man, who proudly tells us he is a Branch Manager on the way up, sells her a financial product she does not need or understand.

We are then led through various scenes that tell us about their personal situations and life in Russia generally.

Unusually for Theatre503 there was an interval but it was there for a purpose, other than to allow me to buy an ice cream. The second half moved a few years later when the loan had become a problem and a debt collector was involved. Things developed from there.

There were other characters involved in the story, including an unfortunate cat, and all the roles were played expertly by Giulia Innocenti, Sam Newton and Keith Dunphy. I rarely name all of the cast and I did so this time because they all deserve a mention.

A Woman Walks Into A Bank was a throughly entertaining and stimulating play, it was remarkable even by Theatre503's high standards.