New talent emerging at the Birmingham Hippodrome – Red Lens Actors G.Y.M Review

“I lived in London for a few years and came back to my hometown of Birmingham and realised there wasn’t anywhere for me to train or play.” – this was Shireenah Ingram’s motivation for establishing the Red Lens Actors G.Y.M. back in 2021. Red Lens offers group and 1 to 1 acting classes to make getting into a professional acting career more accessible to the general public. “I wanted to create a place where individuals are able to develop their confidence” said Shireenah; and her ideals certainly came into fruition through the amazing actors that performed at the showcase.

With the showcase being held at one of the studios in Birmingham Hippodrome, I had made the train trip to Birmingham on one Wednesday night. The studio felt homely and there was a small crowd that formed to watch the showcase. Whilst waiting for the actors to begin, I had chatted to my seat neighbours about why I’ve arrived there for the show, and they in turn have shared that they were here in support of a friend! Most of the crowd had come in support of actors that were their close friends, and that created a very friendly and supportive atmosphere for the actors. It was wonderful to witness the community that Red Lens had formed!

I must express my appreciation to the production team for the showcase to keep colour schemes and characteristics of the characters distinct, so that even when different actors swap in during scenes, it was clear-cut who was who and there was little confusion

The showcase for the actors then began, with multiple actors playing one role and switching actors during scenes. The storyline surrounded three characters, two therapist-like characters in black and white clothing, as well as the third character, Shreya, who was dressed in a yellow top and barefoot. I must express my appreciation to the production team for the showcase to keep colour schemes and characteristics of the characters distinct, so that even when different actors swap in during scenes, it was clear-cut who was who and there was little confusion.

The plotline had started with the actor for Shreya walking in circles, then the other two characters prompting her to describe the floor on where she’s walking on, to which she responded that she was feeling grass beneath her feet – it is at this point that the setting of the story started to come together – the three characters are situated in some kind of psychological facility, and the white and black duo are observing the behaviour of Shreya.

The various actors that played these two characters depicted their personalities well and made the argument scene intense. Kudos to them!

Both the therapists, dressed in opposite colours, were on the same side at first regarding trying to support Shreya, but later had arguments on their different methods of caring for her. One had attempted to calm the other down after they had expressed frustration at Shreya’s behaviour, but the other did not appreciate their comfort and had an outburst on the fact that they handle a lot of patients per day and cannot afford to spend so much effort on a single one. The various actors that played these two characters depicted their personalities well and made the argument scene intense. Kudos to them!

It was clear that Shreya was struggling with some mental health issue as more scenes played out – she registers the hard wooden floor as grass when she takes her socks off, hallucinates for multiple things, and often had emotional outbursts in the process of being questioned by the other two characters.

Personally, the character Shreya had made the largest impression on me, I can still remember how actors performed in her character on the day of the showcase. Being extremely emotional and unstable, Shreya was a more challenging personality to display, given that actors who played her had to have adequate emotional tension and the ability to control their energy appropriately according to the tone of the scene. All the characters that had played her were absolutely amazing. This feat is especially amazing given that there were some actors giving a performance for the first time that impressively captured her characterization with their gestures and line projection.

It could be seen from the showcase that a lot of passion and practice were put into this product that they showcased.

There is limited scope on how well you can depict the current setting when there are minimal props and room space, but the actor team made great use of body language and script lines to tell the audience what they should be imagining. It could be seen from the showcase that a lot of passion and practice were put into this product that they showcased. I really enjoyed being able to have a chat with the actors afterwards in the networking session they hosted, the chance to interact with the actors and contribute your feedback to the performance made the whole experience more personal and precious.

My thanks goes out to Red Lens Actors for offering this review opportunity, and the actors along with everyone who had worked on the production (picture of them below)! If anyone reading this article would like to play an off-brand “Where’s Wally?”, you can also try spotting me within the photo (hint: I am short and shielded by people in front). All in all, I loved what the Red Lens actors showed during the showcase, and I am looking forward to seeing what they are able to do if given a bigger performance space and more resources!