Tag Archives: Park Theatre

The Other Place – 3 Stars

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Place

The Other Place

Park Theatre

Reviewed – 24th September 2018

★★★

“the moderate dynamics throughout jar with the harrowing threads of the story”

 

Neurologist, Juliana Smithton, is successful and self-assured but while presenting her recent work – treatment for dementia – to a group of specialists, she becomes distracted. Karen Archer’s strong performance portrays a Juliana fighting to deny the signs of illness and come to an acceptance of the past. Scratching the surface, we discover a vulnerability disguised as assertiveness and then, as the layers peel away, we begin to understand her fragility. ‘The Other Place’ is not just about dementia. It also depicts what, when and how we remember and the relationships it affects.

Sharr White’s writing is cleverly structured to follow Juliana’s state of mind from confusion to calm. The fragmentary scenes of the first part which mirror her illusion, disillusion and reality lead to her refuge in ‘the other place’, her childhood house, where she feels secure among her memories. The make-up of the story, however, is less well shaped. Dementia and its life-changing consequences for everyone involved is already a distressing situation. Adding a tortuous family tragedy to illustrate the entanglement of her thoughts undermines the poignancy; the loose ends ensuing from that part of the story leave us curious as to the uncharacteristic behaviour of the parents towards their daughter. Heavy-handed humour comes across as deliberate light relief rather than naturally through personality and the whole play wraps up just a little too neatly.

In contrast to Juliana’s hostile accusations and frustrated forgetfulness, Neil McCaul, as Ian, gives us some moving moments as a husband trying to cope with the wife he loves and whose familiarity is disappearing, though his behaviour towards her is, at times, oddly blasé. In supporting roles Eliza Collings draws three well-defined characters who challenge Juliana in different ways and Rupinda Nagra has a reassuring presence on stage in contrast to the surrounding disquiet. Claire van Kampen astutely directs this experienced cast with a focus on Juliana’s puzzle of past and present but the moderate dynamics throughout jar with the harrowing threads of the story and the interpretation feels underplayed in relation to the language of the script.

The simplicity of the stylish wooden set (Jonathan Fensom) is perfect for the comings and goings of the action and as a backdrop for Paul Russell’s classy lighting design. Beautifully inventive and atmospheric, it works in conjunction with the creativity of the sound (John Leonard) to paint the scenes. With a strong technical flair alongside confident performances, touches of drama and humour, food for thought and an ending full of hope, ‘The Other Place’ brings to the Park Theatre, a piece of good, intellectual entertainment.

 

Reviewed by Joanna Hetherington

Photography by Mark Douet

 


The Other Place

Park Theatre until 20th October

 

Related
Reviewed this year at the Park Theatre
There or Here | ★★★½ | January 2018
A Princess Undone | ★★★ | February 2018
Passage to India | ★★★ | February 2018
Vincent River | ★★★★ | March 2018
Pressure | ★★★★ | April 2018
Building the Wall | ★★★★ | May 2018
End of the Pier | ★★★★ | July 2018
The Rise & Fall of Little Voice | ★★★★ | August 2018
Distance | ★★★★ | September 2018

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com

 

 

Distance – 4 Stars

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Distance

Distance

Park Theatre

Reviewed – 7th September 2018

★★★★

“The throbbing backwards and forwards motion of the set pieces, metaphorically becomes the walls of Steven’s mind”

 

‘Suicide is the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK’. So the statistic emblazoned within the programme of new show Distance declares. It is certainly an issue that needs to be extensively addressed, which, collaborators Alex McSweeney and Simon Pittman successfully achieve with their new production. Distance precisely depicts the struggles of one man and his mental health, effectively portraying what so many feel on the inside, but can never be fully understood. McSweeney was compelled to write about this ‘invisible illness’ after five people he knew killed themselves in just over five years. All male. The passion and dedication to get under the skin of this disease is so very apparent. But there is no preaching a cause here. Distance efficaciously negotiates being laugh-out-loud entertaining and heartbreakingly honest within a matter of moments.

Steven (Adam Burton) has been going through a dark time of late. Recently separated, and on the verge of getting a divorce from his wife (Lindsay Fraser), he serendipitously bumps into an old friend (Abdul Salis) whilst on the train to a job interview. On the surface, Steven is friendly and engaged in this rather banal encounter, yet, deep down, he is spiralling into the dark, troubled inner depths of his mind and being. We find him frantically trying to makes sense of the chaotic world around him and his place within it. Action abstractly flits from the present, to being taken on a trip to the inside of Steve’s head, hearing, and physically seeing, the unrestrained, and often, disturbing feelings that he is currently enduring.

Burton delivers a hard-hitting and truthful portrayal of the how it must be like to have a “black dog” inside you, as his character Steven describes it. With nuanced ease he conveys swinging between functioning normally on the outside and then demonstrating quick flickers of the pain and turmoil on the inside – the double-edged sword of depression. The rest of the cast offer tremendous backup in their supporting roles, providing either lighter relief or painful context for Steven’s struggles.

The cherry on top is the ingenious set design from Bethany Wells, which feels like a character in itself. The throbbing backwards and forwards motion of the set pieces, metaphorically becomes the walls of Steven’s mind, gradually enclosing on him at a claustrophobic rate and then easing out again as he tries to feel and act ‘normal’.

Distance offers an excellent examination on mental health issues, raising a red flag on how it can affect not just the person themselves, but the loved ones around them, as well as intimating the pressures our society implements on us all. Particularly, the sense of there being a universal crisis of masculinity. Powerful and thought-provoking yet enjoyably accessible. A winning combination for bringing much needed awareness to a deeply serious matter.

 

Reviewed by Phoebe Cole

Photography by Richard Davenport

 


Distance

Park Theatre until 29th September

 

 

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