Review – Cosmic Minestrone by Lorenzo Fantini at The Drayton Arms Theatre

Writer Lorenzo Fantini presents his latest work Cosmic Minestrone, starring Alida Pantone and Matthew McFetridge at Fragments – Dreams and Fairytales, a new writing night at The Drayton Arms Theatre.

Cosmic Minestrone is a short play about a man who finds himself trapped in a very peculiar waiting room.  There’s no train coming, and he will never go home again, instead he’s waiting to die. This is his final dream before his end, before he’s allowed to move on. He’s not alone. He shares the space with Elena, an acerbic Italian lady from the forties, and a young woman who refuses to show her face to either of them. They all share a special connection, and could well be the key to unlocking the door that will take them onwards on their journey to the afterlife.

The characters on stage move naturally, and we are immediately transported into this after-life setting. Matthew McFetridge, who plays Sebastian, has a powerful energy that gets the piece started and the audience is hooked from the very beginning. Alida Pantone as Elena proves once again that she is second to none in holding the stage. Her presence in the moment, her movements and the way she express herself takes us to the forties, the era her character is from. Her memories of the war moves us, and the connection the two actors create on stage allows us audience to relate to the characters.

It’s certainly an interesting piece of new writing, a perfect showcase for the skills that writer Lorenzo Fantini had already proven whit his screenplays performed during the Screen Rebels nights.

Directed by Amy Reitsma, “Cosmic Minestrone” was part of Fragments – Dreams and Fairytales, a new writing night produced by Little London Theatre at The Drayton Arms Theatre. Among the other plays being staged on the night, one of the most noteworthy was The Wedding Night by Keiron Barry. A piece in iambic pentameter, performed by Alexander McConnell and Solomon Mousely, who were able to bring the Shakespearean verse into the modern daily conversations.

It was a fun night, entertaining. The plays were interesting, the acting very good. Among the new writing events that are hold in London, this is one not to miss.

Ph. by Beatrice Mori