Finding Home Review

Canada Water Theatre, London – 13 December 2018

Reviewed by Antonia Hebbert

4****

Early on in Cecilia Knapp’s one-person performance, she describes cycling along a towpath by a London canal. And there’s a sense of the steady rhythms of cycling throughout this show, as Knapp carries us back into childhood memories, through great trauma and up to finding ‘home’, a place of happiness and acceptance.

Knapp is a poet, playwright and performer, and this was a beautifully written piece. I found myself wanting to stop the show to have more time to think about the words and structure of the piece, before being swept on along the journey. (I’ve found out since that you can buy Finding Home from Cecilia Knapp’s website.) It’s a mesmerising performance, flawlessly delivered with the help of screens showing snatches of film, and minimal props to convey place and time. Descriptions of small details convey a lot about relationships as she describes childhood and the fun and excitement of growing up and moving to London. The trauma at the heart of the piece is the suicide of her brother when he was 21 and she was only 19. Knapp conveys the pain and the aftermath of this very convincingly in the same measured tones, without resorting to easy emotional effects. It feels very honest, but artfully constructed too.

An atmospheric soundtrack for the work is provided by beatboxer and double bass musician Bellatrix, with sound design by Chris Redmond. Stef O’Driscoll directs.

Cecilia Knapp is an ambassador for Calm (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) which works to prevent suicide, especially among young men. They have a helpline and webchat service every night: 0800 585858 and thecalmzone.net/get-help