Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse, Sheffield – until 10th February 2024
Reviewed by Carol Crann
5*****
Wish You Weren’t Here tells the story of a 16-year-old daughter named Mila, played by Olivia Pentelow, and her 30-something Mum, Lorna (Eleanor Henderson). It details their attempt to recreate the holidays of their past by going to stay in a B&B in Scarborough. Their reason? Not only to celebrate Mila’s, initially unknown, GCSE results but also in an attempt to reconnect a mother and daughter relationship that clearly has a lot of issues to resolve.
The characters are played brilliantly by both Eleanor and Olivia, a pair who leave the audience drawn into numerous conversations around many of the big issues facing the world; body image, climate change and racism to name but a few, but also the day-to-day challenges faced by a teenager with more than her fair share of teenage angst, and a mother still struggling with the guilt of having a baby at a very young age and dealing with bringing that child up as a single parent.
The one-liners and retorts that were delivered perfectly by the pair – and with excellent comic timing – had the audience in fits of laughter within minutes of the play opening.
Equally, though, the performance’s more poignant moments left an impact. The conversations couldn’t fail to resonate with anyone who has had the pleasure of forming any sort of relationship with a teenager, myself included. They managed to create a very believable relationship on stage as it quickly became apparent that neither of them considered themselves ‘good enough’ – it was a factor that posed a very real threat to their relationship.
Mila’s struggles were multi-faceted; understanding what her role in the future would look like, her very real concerns about the ecological dangers the world was having to contend with, and how a young mixed race woman may be treated by the society around her.
Lorna, meanwhile, was hampered with the guilt of the hours she had to work in order to support them both, but also a complex belief that having had a child so young, that somehow she had missed out on life.
I really enjoyed that there was very little to distract the audience from the emotional dialogue taking place on stage. The set was minimal, with limited props, but also key moments were given added emphasis by videos that were shown on three screens at the back of the stage. A particularly poignant one showed them on the beach with Nan, Lorna’s mother, who plays quite a large role in the performance – though maybe not quite in the way you would expect.
I highly recommend this play, with my only regret being that it was only an hour long. If you get chance, go and see it, it is definitely worth it!