The Mix, Theatr Clwyd, Yr Wyddgrug – Friday September 8th 2023
Reviewed by Julie Noller
4****
On a very warm night in Mold, northeast Wales; we somewhat reluctantly gathered inside leaving the cool air and magnificent views of the hills outside. James was outside enjoying his customary preshow cigarette and warned us it was warm inside but the air con was running.
The air inside may be somewhat stale but Piece of Work brings a freshness to the stage straight from The Edinburgh Fringe, this being performance number 1 of the tour to follow. James as he did the previous night was mingling, walking in and out of the theatre, The Mix is perfect for an intimate gathering… James doesn’t disapear upon stage but brushes past audience members as they search for seats and take in surroundings. The set up is similar, table and chair but I see papers, clothes and am reminded of my teenage sons bedroom. James starts to move about stage, stripping off I start to giggle, I know it’s warm but. Alas it’s to put on flannelette Pyjamas and red trainers which just threw me into Mum mode, those will be far too hot!
There’s a warning before any dialogue begins but I like to think this is James’ way of connecting to the audience, the content may affect us and if needed please just get up and leave no questions, no pointed fingers after all we are paying to be there and not forced to sit we should be free to leave at any time; suicide tends to always hang in the air darkly.
There’s also a warning that the following hour may contain traces of Shakespeare as every play comes from the same factory. Equally swearing may be used, hopefully no one is of a sensitive disposition, no apologies as swearing is just words and plays are made up of words. It begins with a seed, not the thistle of Scotland but what looks suspiciously like a dandelion (which is the flower of the military child) thrown into the air my eyes follow its slow decent to the ground. Without retelling James’ story and not doing it justice I will refrain from spoilers; the content sparks alive with humour, touches your heart with a tale that involves mental health and suicide.
It is a bold performer who asks for the house lights to be switched on and then encourage everyone to embrace talk of suicide and James is both brave and entertaining. He reads a letter from Dick an old friend of his fathers offering him a bed following a show, Dick who lives in a very big house in York is also the father of his brother Chris who arrived when Jim was 10 and became a beloved younger brother following his mothers suicide.
What follows from that simple act of offering a bed is Piece of Work a title itself that is somewhat a play on words is it the act of writing or his belief that the older men are the said Piece of Work? It’s the little things throughout that pull you into what is an intimate story, they ground you and connect us; maps strewn across the floor showing us where both Jim and Chris live, why they behave the way they do. On the map of Didsbury I notice Kansas and my brain immediately floats to Dorothy mode, alas it’s a fried Chicken shop!! But we do get a heal tap of those red trainers aha that explains it’s like a light bulb moment nothing is by chance everything has a meaning including the hot flannelette pyjamas; chosen because he used to read young Chris his bedtime story and the younger brother insisted on both wearing pyjamas. James brings his Father to life in an old recording to celebrate a milestone birthday, you sense he has a way with words much as his son does, you can argue for nature vs nurture as the 2 brothers are perfect examples of, they may not look alike but they talk and ultimately act alike. But you can’t outrun DNA and each brother has those strands that illuminate them one struggling mentally one realising that dispite not desiring it he is his fathers son.
So to bring Piece of Work full circle, James highlights the lows of loss but highlights that sense of belonging, that warmth and strength we gain from simply feeling home. He pauses to play us a voicenote to end and it’s the gurglings of Chris’ son Aneurin I am not the only one to feel the joy and smile and despite feeling that the story is stopping short of a true ending I am struck by those words uttered throughout that life is infact simply “bigger than that”