Heart Wall
Kit Withington
Directed by Katie Greenall
Bush Theatre
Star rating: 4
This tautly written, nicely directed, play about bereavement, grief and family dynamics is a Bush Theatre production, co-commissioned by Oldham Coliseum. It is set in and around a traditional community pub where Karaoke sessions bond the customers.
Franky (Rowan Robinson) has returned home unannounced. She is clearly troubled and evasive about the boyfriend and job she has left in London. She is no hurry to return. Her father, Dez (Deka Walmsley) is unravelling and her mother Linda (Sophie Stanton) is, it soon emerges, is seeking solace elsewhere although it’s compicated. Meanwhile there’s Franky’s old friend Charlene (Olivia Forrest) and Valentine (Aaron Anthony) in the pub, both with stories of their own and providing insights into Franky’s family.
From the beginning we know that there has been a dreadful tragedy in Franky’s family many years earlier which none of them has ever processed properly. Moroever, it has blighted Franky’s entire life even though it happened before she was born. Kit Withington’s script drip-feeds the facts with tantalising tension over the play’s 100-minute, interval-free duration. Eventually there’s a startlingly beautiful reconciliation scene for which Hazel Low’s set springs a rather effective surprise.
Three things stand out to make this production noteworthy. First the acting – especially Walmsley and Robinson – is highly compelling. Walmsley finds a whole range of emotion in Dez from affectionate dad, to bellowing fury and utter despair. And he switches almost instantly between moods to create this unhappy, disturbed character. And Robinson brings brittleness, curiosity and anxiety to Franky who, above all, needs to be loved unequivocally and to be talked to openly and honestly by her parents.
Second, director Katie Greenhall makes terrific use of eloquent silence. Time and again something is said and there’s a long beat – when, for example, Franky is talking to, and provocatively testing, Anthony’s character in the pub. You can hear the characters thinking.
Third, for the first 45 minutes or so there’s a lot of humour in this play. Then, as it gradually darkens, we laugh less and the shift is effectively managed.
It’s an admirable and engaging piece of theatre.
Photo credit: Harry Elletson
