Theatre: ‘Six on a sofa’ at Exeter Library
‘Six on a sofa’ at Exeter Children’s Library. A live performance, written and performed by a group Exeter University Drama students.
Ah, the humble sofa…… such an integral part of family life. In fact, the average sofa will host more than 782 visitors, witness 293 arguments, enjoy 1,369 cuddles, be slept on overnight 489 times, be sat on 4 hours a day by each person. Gobble up £1.80 in coins per month (£180 over its lifetime!), and suffer 1,663 spillages (according to Sofa Workshop – where do they get these facts from!?).
For the grown-ups among us, the sofa is a comfy place to watch TV from, cuddle up, relax, chat, and read a book — BUT FOR A CHILD, this essential piece of furniture is SO MUCH MORE!
‘SIX ON A SOFA’— a one-off live performance, written and executed by a group of final-year Exeter University Drama students (Olly Holmes, Naamah Large, Zoe Diamond, Micky Diamond, Jack Huxley, and Jess Bagdonas)— was hosted by Exeter Children’s Library.
With a focus on family relationships and sibling interactions, it seemed fitting to entertain me and my two girls (aged 5 and 7) with this after-school Friday performance! With plenty of fun, high physical energy, and something all ages could relate too, around such an inanimate object, this performance did not disappoint.
With few spoken words and a considered soundtrack, the audience journeyed through the standard family sofa squabbles, scuffles, jealousy, unfairness, and disappointment — of who’s annoying who, who’s sitting where, who’s in charge of the controls, and who’s got the most or least room. Not forgetting the sofa meal-time carnage, the role-playing and story-telling, the den building, the locating of various lost items of clothing, and the constant acrobatics (which my two daughters certainly specialise in!).
I enjoyed the nostalgia of this performance— thinking back to my childhood days with my three siblings and all those cushion fights, elbow digs into ribs and arguing over the controls. And it made me feel proud that my own girls can be totally entertained, for hours at a time, just by our own sofa and all it has to offer: dens, boats, mazes, crocodile-infested swamps, schools, swimming pools –anything goes!
They giggled most of the way through the performance, especially when the knight and dragon made an appearance and when the young sister had a meltdown before finally falling fast asleep – sounds familiar!
I’ve seen several recent and excellent performances by Exeter University students and found out the University has just been named as:
The number one institution in the country to study Drama (by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018).
This doesn’t surprise me because the quality, ambition and effort within these performances are clear.
Look out for future Exeter University productions here and also be sure to follow all future events being held across Devon’s libraries, including the amazing Exeter Library, here.
Read more about the author: Liz Finnie
