Jack Studio Theatre – until 23 September 2023
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
3***
Upper Hand Theatre’s production of Laura Wade’s thought-provoking and funny play is a real treat. While non-traditional burials are more common since the play was first performed in 2005, the anxieties and awkwardness around conversations about dying still persist.
Myra (Laura Fitzpatrick) has incurable cancer and has begun to make decisions about her funeral. Her family find this difficult enough, but when her plans (presented to the family via PowerPoint) include woodland burial in a cardboard coffin their unease is amplified.
This is a family that seems to talk at each other rather than converse, and as the play progresses, the distances between the family members and the family dynamics are mirrored in the state of the family home – closed doors, cracks in the walls and a broken boiler. Dad Alec (Michael Tuffnell) keeps everyone at arm’s length, only becoming animated about his beloved music and his mission to get the boiler fixed. Wade keeps you wondering why on earth this couple have stayed together, until a beautifully written scene where they talk honestly and actually touch each other.
Their daughters Jenna (Lisa Minichiello), used to being the centre of any drama, constantly oversharing, and Harriet (Emma Riches), solid and dependable, have opposite trajectories dealing with their mother’s approaching death, and the switching of roles and resilience is amusing, although the audience are under no illusions that either will cope without the other.
There are some wonderfully comic moments tackling Western society’s taboos around death, the family’s repeated responses to first seeing the cardboard coffin in the middle of the living room are a joy. The family are experts in avoidance and watching them all realise that this situation is something that cannot be ignored highlights the cleverness of Wade’s writing – never sentimental but showing the coolness in their relationships thaw and allowing glimmers of hope that the trio will be able to support each other when Myra is gone.
The cast work well together and are completely believable as a fractured family trying to navigate through dark times. Laura Fitzpatrick’s portrayal of Myra’s anger, fear and concern for her family is subtle and never overwrought. Director Jenny Easton allows each scene to drift into the set changes – the living room furniture is moved around by the two daughters and draped with green and brown material to represent a series of burial sites – and while this seemed overlong at first, the change of pace enhanced the rhythm and flow of the production. Classical music from their father’s collection adds a wonderful atmosphere and Matthew Karmios’s lighting evokes the changing seasons beautifully.
Poignant, witty and wonderfully acted, Colder Than Here is well worth a look.