Last Easter

by Bryony Lavery

seen at the Orange Tree Theatre (Richmond) on 15 July 2021

Tinuke Craig directs this revival of Bryony Lavery's 2007 play Last Easter, in which June (Naana Agyei-Ampadu), a lighting designer, is diagnosed with terminal secondary breast cancer and is supported by her three friends drag artist Gash (Peter Caulfield), property manager Leah (Jodie Jacobs) and actor Joy (Ellie Piercy).

June is the often still centre of a maelstrom of displacement activity by her panicked friends, particularly in the first half of the play when Gash and Leah propose a trip to a villa in France which just happens to be close to Lourdes, and then the three decide to reduce shared costs by inviting Joy along as a fourth - Joy who is alarmingly self-obsessed and still reeling from the suicide of a boyfriend. To add to the larkiness generated by Gash and Leah within the narratvie of the play, there are frequent comments made directly to various members of the audience, including apologies that June's occasionally deep introspection is dramatically exceedingly uninteresting to watch.

The trip to France is a bit of a wacky road trip; the visit to Lourdes a mixture of horror at its insitutionalised commercialism of the unwell and humour at the prospect of a lapsed Catholic, a Jewess, a Buddhist and the quietly sceptical June actually gaining any benefit from being there. At times it seems that the play is trying to cover too many bases at once - farce, pathos, meta-theatricality, the loyalty of friends under extreme emotional pressure. In the second half, as the issue of assisted suicide is addressed, a deeper seriousness invades the stage in which the hilarity of inappropriate speech and gesture is more successfully integrated into a poignant and difficult circumstance.

The cast acquit themselves with infectious energy, skilfully managing the swerves of the play's style. Moments of solidarity and affection jostle with impatience, pain and disillusionment in a way which acknowledges that life is often raw, messy and painful, while there are also episodes of merry excitement and even quiet enjoyment. Not only is June enthralled by the light in a painting by Caravaggio; she also enjoys just being. It's fascinating that a play celebrating a fair degree of brashness nevertheless gives due weight to these quieter moments as well.