Mayfly

by Joe White

seen at the Orange Tree Theatre on 17 May 2018

Guy Jones directs Simon Scardifield as Ben, Irfan Shamji as Harry, Evelyn Hoskins as Loops and Niky Wardley as Cat in this first play by Joe White.

Once again the Orange Tree Theatre has produced the goods. Interestingly, this is another play in a rural setting dealing with devastating loss, but it is quite different from Nightfall which I saw recently at the Bridge Theatre, and, in my opinion, more satisfying. The explanation for the strange behaviour of Ben, his wife Cat and daughter Loops is not clear until late in the play, but in this case the withholding of information is not nearly as contrived (in terms of the world of the play) - not least because the fourth character is initially a stranger to them all - even Loops's claim of prior acquaintance turns out to be fleeting. While all three of members of this family behave oddly, not to say at the extreme end of credibility, the atmosphere of the play allows us to take everything on trust while awaiting further revelation. When it comes, the result is almost unbearably poignant.

In the small square space of the theatre, surrounded on all four sides by a few rows of seats, we are easily transported from a raging river (including two drenched men) to a ramshackle garden, to the messy terrace of a village pub whose owners have sold up, to a Shropshire hilltop, to the family house. We see Ben, Cat and Loops at the extremity of their grief, puzzled by them because the reason for their trauma is almost completely suppressed, but aware that something is desperately wrong. Harry, meeting each in turn without realising that they are related, proves an interesting sounding board for them, bemused and uncertain, but with a more optimistic view of things despite his own confusion over the disappearance of his mother.

I was really impressed that in an unbroken hundred minutes or so, the actors could convey so much pain and isolation, and reveal a story of loss without sentimentalising it or rendering it too melodramatic. It's a very fine piece of work.