What a disappointing, and at times offensive, blog 'The Debating House of the Mind' is. Its self-satisfied tone leaves a most unpleasant taste in the mouth.
I saw Every Time It Rains at Hull Truck last night (22nd June) and the water references were quite obviously meant to be noticed, and they certainly weren't puns. Phrases such as 'gentle trickle', 'bubbling up' and 'swimming in offers', (and the countless others you crowbar into your blog) are puns, but the use of language in Creed's script served as a constant reminder of the ever-present flood water and its devastating aftermath.
The "painfully local a feel" not doubt comes from a local writer writing about local people experiencing extraordinary local events, one of which cost a local man his life.
How dismissively condescending of you to describe "Hull's locals" as "celebrating...self-jubilant victimhood". This piece, more than any other, celebrates the strength of character displayed by the people of Hull in the face of great hardship and adversity.
"The Flood was traumatic, people suffered, the systems in place couldn't cope, and no one cared about the poor little Hull folk."
To comment so glibly on something which you quite clearly have no experience or understanding of shows an astounding lack of compassion and an incredible degree of ignorance.
As a reviewer of theatre I also think you leave a lot to be desired; '...they also have better rows' is neither informative nor insightful. You make no reference to the characters' journeys, the use of staging, the atmospheric lighting, the seamless depiction of the different effects the floods had on the local community, and the gentle use of comedy - definitely not the "unremitting torrent of misery" which you describe. And rather than "sentimental piano music", I heard an evocative underscore which beautifully enhanced the moods of the scenes.
I'm also more than a little surprised you didn't realise that although "the bulky copper" (whose name was Rocky by the way) "claims to be trying to tell a straightforward story, without saturating it with emotion", he quite clearly states later in the play that in the case of the death of Michael Barnett Jnr, he couldn't detach himself. His whole dilemma comes from the fact that he couldn't treat this like any other case and as a result, was taken to the depths of 'crushing depression'.
If there are any unwritten rules at Hull Truck I would suggest they are to produce consistently high quality work about subjects which resonate with the inhabitants of its surrounding areas. The clue is in the title really.
