Hampstead Theatre, London – until 22 July 2023
Reviewed by Celia Armand Smith
4****
The director of Song from Far Away, Kirk Jameson says that “Grief is rather like staring into a mirror … on closer inspection, the reflection can also reveal a much more detailed picture of oneself.” This beautifully crafted monologue from Simon Stephens and Mark Eitzel is a quiet and poetical journey through the early stages of grief.
Willem is a hedge fund manager in New York on his way to work like any other day, when he gets a call from his family in Amsterdam telling him that his brother has died quite suddenly and unexpectedly. What follows is a voyage across the ocean via airport terminals and first class lounges, people from his past, streets he had known from his youth, hotel rooms, and his detached family. Told through the writing of letters to his late brother, Willem returns to his past to face his family, the void that has been created by his absence, and ultimately himself. He is played by Will Young with a melodic lightness of touch; all at once poignant and fragile, but also comical in his account of what has happened. Young’s accent is natural and unwavering, and the song, when it comes, just breezes in and out with ease.
This production of Song from Far Away, which transferred to Hampstead after a successful run earlier in the year at HOME in Manchester, holds the audience captive from beginning to end. Ingrid Hu’s design is simple, just a few chairs and tables with curtains that move to shift the scene or reveal snow falling silently in the background, supported by beautiful lighting and sound from Andrew Exeter and Julian Starr respectively. The 85 minutes go by easily, and we felt we could have stayed and listened to Willem recount his life way beyond the curtain call.