As the lights went down to signal the end of Peter Gill’s new 70-minute play, the man (fellow critic I’ve known for years) next to me murmured: “That was just too close and painful.”  I know what he meant. Something in the Air is beautiful at almost every level but, my goodness it’s poignant: almost unbearably so. And it’s the acuteness of the observation which does it, in both the writing and the high quality acting, immaculately directed by the playwright and Alice Hamilton.

Colin (Ian Gelder) and Alex (Christopher Goodwin) are in a care home. There may have been a bumpy gay relationship in the past with some joyous memories and some devastating ones – Alex, for example, has at one stage been married to a woman and fathered two sons. Or perhaps they’ve met in the care home and each is remembering other relationships. Now very frail, they sit quietly holding hands and reminiscing but Alex’s dementia is far advanced and they talk in disjointed monologues rather than talking to each other. They are lost in memory – as it were. Everyday life is, in contrast,  evoked by Clare (Claire Price) who is Colin’s niece and Andrew Woodall as Alex’s son, Andrew. They talk across the old men about travel arrangements, medical appointments, Andrew’s family and more – with a subtext that there might, just might, be flicker of interest between them.

It will be a long time before I forget Goodwin’s half closed eyes, fumbling fingers and vacant glances when he’s not talking about the distant past. Anyone who has ever dealt with dementia will recognise the ghastly truth of this fine performance. Gelder’s character is slightly more alert and, movingly, looks after Alex adjusting the rug on his knees and repeatedly asking him if he wants anything. It’s almost unbearably accurate.

Woodall’s performance as the son who finds his father’s sexuality repugnant and clearly comes to the care home, unsmiling but distantly dutiful, is impressively truthful too. So is Price’s over-bright kindness.

Meanwhile the pasts of Colin and Alex are mirrored by two different young men Nicholas (James Schofield) and Gareth (Sam Thorpe-Spinks) side stage. It connotes a sense of universality and timelessness in the shared experiences which often include anger, distress and disappointment. Both actors do a competent job, Schofield, for example, smiles in a glitteringly attractive, irresistibly attractive come-on way and it’s totally believable.  Their presence provides lots of opportunity for cross-current conversation linking past and present which highlights the confusion, especially, in Alex’s mind.

A new play by Peter Gill is always welcome. And we go to the theatre to feel emotion. This one certainly hits you between the eyes.

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  Photos: Steve Gregson

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