4 STARS, April 24 – May 26. Dynamic and persuasive, Joe White’s first play tackles a family facing unnavigable loss and is a thoughtful and incisive drama, says Amanda Hodges
Helen Murray
Evelyn Hoskins and Irfan Shamji in Mayfly by Joe White
Taking as its inspiration the insect whose entire life cycle encompasses just one day, Joe White’s debut play spanning twenty-four hours, is a powerful and keenly poignant drama about a family trying to come to terms with grief and the different ways in which they process the passage of time. The subject-matter covers difficult territory for sure but thankfully it possesses liberal doses of wry humour that lends shade to many dark moments.
In the heart of a Shropshire village three very fractured people are trying to make sense of their disjointed lives. It is the anniversary of the day Adam left the family. His father Ben (Simon Scardifield) cannot bear to mention his name and feels he too may need to disappear, his mother Cat (Niki Wardley) is desperate just to hear her son’s voice one last time and sister Loops (Evelyn Hoskins) has finally thrown off her army fatigues for a red dress that she hopes will help to persuade Harry (Irfan Shamji) to become her boyfriend. Everyone is unravelling in their own idiosyncratic way but can Harry – who carries his own secret woes – perhaps be the catalyst for some long overdue healing?
Helen Murray
Niky Wardley and Simon Scardifield in Mayfly by Joe White
Helen Murray
Niky Wardley, Irfan Shamji, Simon Scardifield and Evelyn Hoskins in Mayfly by Joe White
Helen Murray
Irfan Shamji and Evelyn Hoskins in Mayfly by Joe White
Joe White’s new play, expertly directed by Guy Jones, marks an impressive debut. His cast of characters may seem an initially odd bunch but the reason for their strange behaviour soon becomes apparent as each is seen to be grieving intense loss, something which comes into stark relief when Harry’s presence at a family dinner triggers painful revelations that may yet prove cathartic.
A first-rate cast illuminate a perceptive and generally interesting (if over-sweary) script and whilst not every scene may hit the mark (the mushroom-picking one feels a bit contrived) overall the emotional arc that the play traces feels absolutely authentic and is genuinely affecting; no mean feat dramatically. That it achieves this is of course to the credit of the playwright but also very much the cast assembled, amongst whom Evelyn Hoskins and Irfan Shamj as Loops and Harry really shine, each recognising in the other some sort of kindred spirit but so alienated from their lives that their courtship becomes painfully protracted.
The Dinah Washington song What Difference A Day Makes proclaims that “just twenty-four little hours” can transform a life and it’s a sentiment that White’s heartfelt and deeply humane play profoundly echoes.
- Check out our Theatre/Arts Section for more great local theatre news, reviews and interviews
- You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates on all our latest articles
- Sign up to our Weekly Newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and stories
- Looking to advertise your business in Surrey or SW London? Check out our 11 different lifestyle magazines with a combined monthly distribution of over 210,000 AB1 homes
