Leeds Playhouse – until 7 October 2023
Reviewed by Sal Marino
5*****
One word to sum up The Light House is beautiful. It was beautifully written, beautifully performed and beautifully structured. Alys Williams, the writer and sole performer (apart from the audience members who she gently and enthusiastically encouraged to join her on stage) of The Light House, bravely told us her story about how she and her partner, ‘Nathan’, navigated through the rough seas of life during a particularly stormy time.
Alys is one of those people who you instantly like, her energy is powerful and electric but at the same time she gives off warm and safe vibes. She invites members of the audience to take part in the show and you just know she isn’t going to embarrass anyone and that it will be just as enjoyable for them as it is for her and everyone else to watch. It was fascinating to observe Alys interact with everyday objects such as a lamp that represented Nathan. The way she communicated with that light was so moving and I don’t know how she did it but, I think I had more empathy with the lamp than I would have if it had been an actual actor stood there: genius work!
Throughout the show, lots of information was given about the mental health system without it distracting from (but was cleverly woven into) the love story narrative. The main message being that: it’s an almighty painful struggle when someone you love is contemplating committing suicide and there’s not much help out there. Alys and Nathan were fortunate to have a circle of good friends and family to support them, to keep their lights shining inside through the dark depths of their journey. Alys’s anecdotes and tales about how they helped her, and ‘Nath’ is so heart-warming and makes you realise that people do care and that together, we can overcome those shadow times and bring the light back in.
Hearing how Alys and Nathan developed their relationship through letters and mini visits and how their love manifest and eventually actualized brought a tear to my eye in several places. Alys acts and vocalizes things so passionately that it makes you feel that new bloom of falling in love. So, when she gets ‘the call’ about Nathan having bad thoughts and things start to come crashing down, you really want to help her help Nathan and illuminate his light again.
You’ll leave the theatre after watching The Light House, feeling a warm fuzzy glow inside, as despite facing some disturbing issues, hope and love wins through and you know ‘everything is going to be alright’. As Alys says, we’re in it together and we’ll get through it.