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Between Two Waves

The Space

Reviewed – 23rd October 2019

★★★

“it has huge potential and can be great fun in a bittersweet kind of way”

Ian Meadows’ Between Two Waves is a play with the climate crisis at its core, performed at The Space as part of Rising Tides’ climate extinction double bill.

The story follows climatologist and government advisor Daniel (Tomás Barry), who is dealing not only with an insurance claim for important files damaged in a flood, but also a new relationship with his colleague Fiona (Gintare Smigelskyte), the possibility of bringing a child into an uncertain future and the rising pressure of making the right people listen to his climate warnings.

The story is extremely fast-paced and throws all these elements into the mix simultaneously – none are forgotten about for more than a few minutes as scenes almost overlap each other, with characters from one scene sometimes entering before the previous character from a different scene has left. Daniel is the only constant, remaining on stage throughout the play’s entirety and rarely moving from his spot.

In terms of encouraging dialogue about the climate crisis, Between Two Waves unfortunately falls short. Any statistics and points actively spoken about climate change are used primarily as filler for when Daniel addresses a camera, which makes them appear sterile and somehow implies that we shouldn’t pay attention to what’s being said.

I couldn’t help but notice a lack of discernible message throughout – the multimedia speech at the end seems hastily shoved in at the last minute, perhaps to try and make up for this.

The plot is also quite difficult to follow. The timescale of the story seems to have been chopped into pieces and scattered about, which director Linda Miller has failed to present in a clear way to the audience and is not helped by the sound design (Keri Chesser), which is often disorientating and at some points deafening.

The confusing chronology is particularly problematic when it comes to Daniel and Fiona’s journey together, or rather the lack of it – at one point the play jumps from Fiona screaming at Daniel, having known him for a matter of days, to a year down the line with the two now a happy couple. No reconciliation, no context.

Other confusing plot points involve abstract monologues Daniel delivers to Fiona’s answerphone about his sister – we are given some context about what happened to her but not enough to fully understand her role within his story.

That’s not to say the play doesn’t have its merits. The writing is superb during the more playful interactions – beautifully timed one-liners, witty wordplay and moments of relatable awkwardness are generously peppered throughout. These scenes are hugely enjoyable and have us roaring with laughter, particularly when witnessing Daniel’s knack of saying the complete wrong thing to Fiona – I can’t help but feel that Between Two Waves would work better if it was simplified and more focussed on their relationship.

The individual acting is also wonderful. Each character is a finely honed, multi-faceted being and the actors’ performances seem effortlessly natural. Barry and Smigelskyte stand out purely due to their comic delivery, which pays the text dividends, although Grenelle (Alice Langrish) and Jimmy (William de Coverly) offer fantastic support.

Between Two Waves is a play that suffers from an identity crisis. Its ambition is admirable, sure, but trying to cram five or six stories into one narrative in this case serves only to complicate things and take away from the moments that do work. It’s a shame because it has huge potential and can be great fun in a bittersweet kind of way – so why not concentrate on this and cut off the excess fat?

Reviewed by Sebastian Porter

Between Two Waves

The Space until 15th November

Previously reviewed at this venue:

We Know Now Snowmen Exist | ★★★ | March 2019

Post Mortem | ★★★★ | April 2019

Chekhov In Moscow | ★★★★ | August 2019

The Open | ★★★ | September 2019

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★★★½

“possesses a plethora of great elements, and displays great promise”

Delicacy is part of The Space’s Foreword Festival, an annual event dedicated to honing and producing the work of emerging writers – not that this is evident in Mark Jones’ play, as his script carries all the hallmarks of someone who is already a master of their craft.

Delicacy follows a family’s farcical descent into madness as they’re embroiled in the misdeeds of a cannibal. Jodie and Duncan Gibson (Sarah Tortell and Colin Adrian respectively) had unknowingly eaten a cottage pie containing human flesh served up by their neighbour, who turned out to be a serial killer who eats his victims. The ensuing media storm frames the Gibsons and their daughter Amber (Stephanie Dickson) as villains, and their attempts to quell their antagonisation only serves to exacerbate it. The script takes jabs at the bizarre lack of laws surrounding cannibalism, as well as how the media (ranging from journalists to Instagram) callously exploit and weaponise the distress of others to great effect.

The slope that the family slides down is charted excellently by Jones, toeing the line between darkness and comedy expertly; the desperate actions of the characters frequently provide hilarity for the audience, while there are also a number of cracking one-liners throughout. Sammy Glover’s direction, too, keeps the pace and tension steadily increasing, and having the audience sit on all sides elevates the sense that the characters are trapped. Considering the audience configuration, it’s also hugely impressive that there were no moments where the actors blocked each other’s visibility, which is a testament to Glover’s staging and minimalistic set design that allowed for the maximum level of movement.

Tortell and Adrian both give excellent performances as Jodie and Duncan – they’re consistently believable even when carrying out psychopathic actions, and work as emotional anchors to keep the story grounded, while also keenly delivering the comedy. Dickson, however, does not manage to achieve this too – her portrayal of Amber feels one-dimensional, and occasionally lacks a sense of motivation underpinning her actions. She also seems strangely unaffected by the events surrounding the family, which does not allow her journey through the play to feel like it develops organically, and consequently the resolution does not land as gracefully as it could have.

Despite this shortcoming though, the show still possesses a plethora of great elements, and displays great promise for the future of Mark Jones. Consistently dark and frequently disturbing, Delicacy is – by and large – delectable.

Reviewed by Tom Francis

The Space

Reviewed – 23rd October 2019

★★★

“it has huge potential and can be great fun in a bittersweet kind of way”

Ian Meadows’ Between Two Waves is a play with the climate crisis at its core, performed at The Space as part of Rising Tides’ climate extinction double bill.

I couldn’t help but notice a lack of discernible message throughout – the multimedia speech at the end seems hastily shoved in at the last minute, perhaps to try and make up for this.

Other confusing plot points involve abstract monologues Daniel delivers to Fiona’s answerphone about his sister – we are given some context about what happened to her but not enough to fully understand her role within his story.

Reviewed by Sebastian Porter

Between Two Waves

The Space until 15th November

Previously reviewed at this venue:

The Space

Reviewed – 8th May 2019

★★★½

“possesses a plethora of great elements, and displays great promise”

Delicacy is part of The Space’s Foreword Festival, an annual event dedicated to honing and producing the work of emerging writers – not that this is evident in Mark Jones’ play, as his script carries all the hallmarks of someone who is already a master of their craft.

Despite this shortcoming though, the show still possesses a plethora of great elements, and displays great promise for the future of Mark Jones. Consistently dark and frequently disturbing, Delicacy is – by and large – delectable.

Reviewed by Tom Francis

Delicacy

The Space until 11th May

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: