THE BOX at the White Bear Theatre

★★★

“a good watchable show, with some interesting themes to explore”

Brian Coyle’s ‘The Box’ follows Tom (Martin Edwards) and Kate (Sarah Lawrie), a couple with a mysterious box in their lounge. How are the box and the pair connected? That’s one of the occasional mysteries to discover in the play. In the beginning, it’s unknown who they are to each other; they role play, each making up new back stories – which the other tends not to approve of. Slowly the nature of them being a couple is revealed. It becomes clear they’ve both shared a trauma which neither is comfortable being truthful about. The resolution to their cycle of lies is what follows.

From the start I sensed the actors were holding back. There’s several movement heavy moments that dictated transitions, in which I felt they were holding a lot of tension and could’ve given a lot more. Perhaps this came from nerves or not feeling free enough to push further and take more risks. What’s interesting about this is that the play opened with Tom and Kate role playing – and when they did, their characters felt so much more open and free. Perhaps this was a choice to show how they’ve become so uncomfortable with each other that they need another identity to relax. If this was Jonathan Woolf’s direction, however, I do not think it carried through and instead came off as stiff. Both actors, however, had beautiful moments of comedy which did succeed in charming the audience.

The sound (Simon Beyer) consisted of piano accompaniment in transitions and places where the dramatic intention of the scenes changed. This grated on me as it felt like the music was trying to prescribe what I was supposed to be feeling. Especially when there was no dialogue. Instead of silence that the actors could’ve used to create an atmosphere, we were told that there was a certain atmosphere. This was a shame as it took away from the couple’s uncomfortable pauses. In one scene towards the end, however, silence was allowed when the two reluctantly spoke of their love for each other. Here the beats were perfect and believable.

The set is minimal but detailed: the box taking centre stage, a shelf with a wine bottle and several glasses, a chair, a clothing rail with six dresses – all the same, in three different colours. I inferred this as trying to imply a potential mental health disorder – particularly given the dresses – which read well, and was subtle enough as to not be stereotypical. If this was the case, however, I wish that could have been explored more throughout. The costume included many bright and warm colours, contrasting the play’s heavy themes – as if it were part of the couple trying to pretend everything is ‘normal’ and masking their dark sides. Again, I appreciated the subtlety of this suggestion.

The content was interesting enough and did keep me wanting to know more about what’s really going on with the characters. Yet, I feel it’s a story and relationship dynamic I’ve seen many times before. Again, without giving too much away, I watch a lot of Detective TV shows and the main families, parents and couples all share this same struggle where one party doesn’t truly know the other since a shared trauma, and as a result they’re broken. Except here there is no mystery to unfold in action, it’s just the audience trying to guess what on Earth is up with the box.

Overall, a good watchable show, with some interesting themes to explore, but it did leave me unsatisfied and yearning for ten times more.

THE BOX

★★★

White Bear Theatre

THE BOX at the White Bear Theatre

★★★

“a good watchable show, with some interesting themes to explore”