Rating: ★★★★★
Venue: Waterloo East, London
Cast: Luke Henry, Rosie Skuse
Alex and Rupert aren't a conventional match, but a caffeinated meeting on the Underground ignites a spark. Skip forward to them fighting over baby names, nursery colours and ways to save money. All the signs of a normal family in waiting. Then Alex goes into labour, their baby is born still - and their world implodes.
What follows is a window into how a couple finds the strength to move forward, the will to stay together, and the determination to keep alive the memory of their child.
This play is based on the book by Cordelia O’Neill. This very limited run of the show was shown at Waterloo East Theatre between the 21st-24th August; a run I wish had been longer.
What I like about the theatre itself, its very small and for this particular show, the intimacy of the theatre really worked. I’m not sure how well this would have translated in a bigger theatre. The staging is quite simple; set up just like an apartment. However, many props such as chairs and tables are used for other scenes such as the tube, a restaurant and birthing scenes, which is very cleverly done.
An aspect I really enjoyed was the choreography. It felt as though some of the story was told through dance and even using dance to transition into new scenes was very effective. The drum and bass was brilliant and definitely a genre of music that's great to dancing your feelings out too.
Rosie Skuse and Luke Henry who play Alex and Rupert are so talented, it was easy to forget you were watching a show. It was as though I'd been invited into the couple's lives and could take in everything they went through; almost like a non-responsive therapist.
The plot focuses on Alex and Rupert who aren't a conventional match but a fate meeting on the underground ignites a spark between the pair. We then skip forward to them fighting over baby names, nursery colours and ways to save money; all the typical signs of a family in waiting. Then Alex goes into labour; their baby is stillborn, and their world implodes.
I can't even begin to imagine what is feels like to lose a child during birth, it's an incredibly difficult thing to truly understand if you haven’t been through it yourself. However, this play tackles this subject matter extremely well. Rosie and Luke made me feel every emotion and the acting felt so real and raw; as though they were currently experiencing these scenes. They did an exquisite job of verbalising the experience in a way that at least allowed me to empathise, and I was somehow there to just listen.
For a show with such an incredibly difficult subject, I think Rosie and Luke delivered their performances perfectly, as there was never a single moment where I didn’t believe or feel invested in either the characters or their relationship. When everything then falls apart, both actors make the transition from comedy to tragedy seamlessly, effortlessly breaking our hearts where five minutes before they had us crying with laughter. As an audience member, a highlight was witnessing Rupert grieve; particularly as society seems to allow mothers to grieve and focuses less on the partner. And there is another beautiful moment near the end when Alex (Skuse) finally realises that her partner Rupert (Henry) is also suffering this loss and in that moment, it brought the couple together closer than ever before.
This production has definitely prompted me to buy the book this is based on by Cordelia O'Neill, as I feel I need to know more after being fully engaged in this wonderful show.
You can find out more about this production, here.
Review by Sarah
**photo credit: Danny Kaan**
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