There but for the Grace of God (Go I)

Soho Theatre

Reviewed – 6th August 2018

★★★★

“If ever there was a show deserving of a longer run, this is it”

We’ve probably all, at some stage, ‘googled’ ourselves out of curiosity, boredom, or whatever it might be. Upon doing just this, actor Adam Welsh finds that the first result is that of a six year old boy, Adam Walsh, kidnapped from a Florida department store in 1971, resulting in national uproar. It’s this that forms the basis of the production. Through the retelling of these dark events and a comparison between them and the actor’s own childhood, parent-child relationships are explored in what is an intriguing piece of theatre.

Welsh has the audience engaged from the get-go, with an element of audience participation when he asks for a show of hands of who has ever ‘googled’ themselves. The responses allow for laughs and it’s immediately apparent we are in safe hands.

There are many engaging, cleverly executed elements throughout the production – too many to name, in fact. Adam Welsh starts to tell of the disappearance of little Adam Walsh through the use of Lego figurines, filmed on a laptop webcam and projected onto the back of the set. We are led down memory lane on numerous occasions as we learn of personal stories from Welsh’s own childhood, including how he himself once went missing at a water park. Stories such as this are told through the inclusion of candid clips of his parents recounting events and reminiscing, with Welsh himself frequently mirroring segments of what they have said, which proves very effective.

Sequences from a film dramatising the disappearance of Adam Walsh in Florida are projected at various points, with Welsh, again, mirroring some of the action. Particularly powerful is the mirroring of an outburst of rage displayed by little Adam Walsh’s father.

There But for the Grace of God (Go I) should be described as more of a theatrical experience than just a show. There’s always something to engage with and never a dull moment. Touching personal stories combined with the retelling of a real crime truly bring home the value of life and relationships and you’d need a heart of stone to not be moved. If ever there was a show deserving of a longer run, this is it.

Reviewed by Emily K Neal

Photography by Peter Corkhill

There but for the Grace of God (Go I)

Soho Theatre until 8th August

Related

Previously reviewed at this venue

Dust | ★★★★★ | February 2018

Sugar Baby | ★★★★★ | May 2018

Flesh & Bone | ★★★★★ | July 2018

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