4 STARS, November 2 – December 2. Catherine Bardrick awards four stars to an intense exploration of grief and loss which asks the question, 'Is it ever possible to move on?'
“A man and a woman who first lost a child, then themselves, then each other” is the lead male protagonist’s succinct summary of the plot of “Poison” the critically acclaimed international hit by Dutch writer Lot Vekemans which is currently enjoying its UK Premiere at the Orange Tree Theatre. First staged in 2009 and translated into English by Rina Vergano, the play has already been translated into 15 other languages, staged in many countries, including a recent successful run on Broadway, and there are plans in the pipeline for film versions in both Dutch and English.
It is not hard to understand such an international appeal as it is such a universal story of human experience dealing with the devastating loss of a child and the subsequent impact on the parents referred to simply as “he” and “she”. Quite simply, it could be located anywhere in the world. We first meet the couple ten years after their separation at the cemetery where they have been brought together to discuss the possible re-interment of their son as a result of toxins poisoning the groundwater. This provides the literal interpretation of the play’s title, but as we watch the drama painfully unfold from that initial awkward and uncomfortable first meeting, it soon becomes clear that it is the slow poison of grief with all its damage and suffering that is the real poison at work.
As the couple await the arrival of the cemetery administrator who has summoned them, they begin to confront their past raking over recriminations, revisiting old hostilities, reapportioning blame so that the open wound is raw and exposed once more. It appears that one of them has dealt with the grief better than the other and may even have moved on to a new life starting afresh, whilst the other has had problems with addiction and remained stuck, accused of “wallowing in grief like a warm bath”. The play presents the different ways that people deal with grief with great honesty and authenticity showing the immense pressures on a relationship which fractures because of the impossibility of sharing and understanding each other’s pain.
Director Paul Miller expertly allows the actors to reveal a rawness and intensity of emotion in the ebb and flow of their onstage conversations and silences. The rhythm of their relationship is perfectly paced to fully engage the audience, and effectively enhanced by the intimacy of the space which places the actors under a microscope with nowhere to hide. Under our examination are actors Claire Price and Zubin Varla who carry the weighty responsibility of delivering this intense two-hander. Neither disappoint as both are very strong performances running the full gamut of emotion and convincing us of their past history or as one of them states “a story of a failed past”. Sympathies fluctuate back and forth from one character to the other as more and more of that story is revealed and the fault lines start to fracture.
The intensity is further enhanced by the starkness of the staging and the minimalism of the set design and lighting (by Simon Daw and Mark Doubleday). The tension of waiting, and waiting for someone who may never appear, had already brought Beckett to mind, and now with the set, instead of a country road and a tree, we have two unremarkable benches and a vending machine. This starkness highlights the grim nature of the circumstances and frames the rawness of the emotional journey with a Beckett-like bleakness which also underlines the universality of the play – this could be any couple, any place, any time.
What is most intriguing is that a final revelation late on in the play adds a layer of complexity which leads the audience to re-evaluate the characters and their motivations as well as question issues of truth, reliability and deception. Ultimately this is a highly engaging play well worth 80 minutes of your time which will initially provoke a lot of thought and discussion and then simply stay with you…
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