LEAVES OF GLASS at the Park Theatre
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โMax Harrisonโs staging is beautifully faithful and sympathetic to the writing.โ
Memories contain errors. Memory is highly malleable; therefore, often unreliable. It can be altered by emotional state from the very second it becomes a memory. Or many years later. Yet most of us like to think our own recollections are infallible, even when we know we might be twisting it. Thatโs just survival, according to Philip Ridley who explores these themes in his 2007 play โLeaves of Glassโ. The middle episode of his โBrothers Trilogyโ, it was preceded by โMercury Furโ and followed by โPiranha Heightsโ.
โLeaves of Glassโ centres around two brothers, Steven (Ned Costello) and Barry (Joseph Potter). Five years apart in age, but on the surface, they couldnโt be further apart from each other. Steven runs a successful graffiti removal business while Barry, despite being a bit of a dogsbody in the firm, is a struggling artist. Steven appears to have his head screwed on, whereas Barryโs is lost in drink and hallucinations. Their respective memories of their father, whom they lost at a young age, are on different tracks. Yet there are similarities that bond them. But like similar poles of a magnet, they repel each other. Their mother Liz (Kacey Ainsworth) tentatively holds them together, despite her affections wavering between the two as wildly as her own recollections. The only solid presence is Stevenโs pregnant wife Debbie (Katie Eldred) who is aware of the fragility of the family, but her tolerance doesnโt stretch to assuring nothing gets broken.
The intensity of the play comes not just from the spoken word, but the silence that surrounds a traumatic incident from the brothersโ childhood that neither seems willing to talk about. When the silence snaps, the effect is shocking. The pieces come together but nothing fits, as the final battle of memories is like a duel to the death.
โSam Glossopโs underscore splits the playโs segments like splinters of sound that throw us off balanceโ
The intensity of the play also undoubtedly comes from the performances. Costello and Potter both capture the inherent danger in Ridleyโs script and in their characters. Costello in particular, like a brooding prisoner who never leaves the stage. Neither can escape their version of the truth โ a truth that we can only keep guessing about. Eldredโs Debbie, the outsider, is more grounded but not quite strong enough to dodge the fallout from the brothersโ mind games. Ainsworth is a mix of concern and complicity as the mother who inflates her own ability to cope. โIโve buried two parents and a husbandโ she continually reminds us, โI think Iโm capable of carrying some tea and biscuitsโ. The little hints of domesticity are a thin gauze over the deep cracks that run through this family.
Ridleyโs signature is splashed all over the piece, although less shocking, and perhaps more thoughtful, than some of his other work. Max Harrisonโs staging is beautifully faithful and sympathetic to the writing. Some scenes are short, like pieces of broken glass. Other scenes start when they are already up and running. They end unresolved. It is discomforting and reflects the unravelling of the minds of these four protagonists. The actors come into the scenes from different angles โ as jagged as the eponymous leaves of glass. Alex Lewerโs lighting is just as evocative, swinging from harshness to near darkness like a horror filmโs bare light bulb; while Sam Glossopโs underscore splits the playโs segments like splinters of sound that throw us off balance.
It is difficult to tell the difference between a lie and a truth misremembered. This family is built on both โ a pretty unstable foundation to begin with. It is not always easy viewing to witness, but the craftmanship of the acting and the writing force us not to look away. Memory may be fragile, but โLeaves of Glassโ will be difficult to forget.
LEAVES OF GLASS at the Park Theatre
Reviewed on 25th January 2024
by Jonathan Evans
Photography by Mark Senior
Previously reviewed at this venue:
KIMโS CONVENIENCE | โ โ โ โ | January 2024
21 ROUND FOR CHRISTMAS | โ โ โ โ | December 2023
THE TIME MACHINE โ A COMEDY | โ โ โ โ | December 2023
IKARIA | โ โ โ โ | November 2023
PASSING | โ โ โ ยฝ | November 2023
THE INTERVIEW | โ โ โ | November 2023
ITโS HEADED STRAIGHT TOWARDS US | โ โ โ โ โ | September 2023
SORRY WE DIDNโT DIE AT SEA | โ โ ยฝ | September 2023
THE GARDEN OF WORDS | โ โ โ | August 2023
BONES | โ โ โ โ | July 2023
PAPER CUT | โ โ ยฝ | June 2023
LEAVES OF GLASS | โ โ โ โ | May 2023
LEAVES OF GLASS
LEAVES OF GLASS
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