53Two, Manchester – until October 1st 2022
Review by Rebecca Hampson
4.5****
Things That Divide Us was a poignant and informative piece written by Joshua Chandos and Directed by Simon Naylor. The story explores the relationship between two characters Kitty and David who meet in the apocalyptic Calais Jungle. Within this 90 minute performance we delve deep into the political world of Calais and see the impact of war through a refugee crisis.
The technical aspects of the play must be commended as the use of a projected screen added a deeper layer to the play as the audience were shown clips of news reports and French which immersed us into the world. There were moments where the performance space became problematic due to blocking but this was dismissed as we accepted the changing venue of the space.
I personally thoroughly enjoyed the chemistry between Callum Sim as ‘David’ and Beth Lily-Banks as ‘Kitty’ and felt this connection between the two characters moved the plot forwards in incredible ways. The character development throughout this piece was highly commendable as we saw how this experience changed both Kitty and David.
A line that stood out to me in this play came from a short repeated monologue by Kitty “In twenty years time you will be able to say you were stood on the right side of history”. With the recent events of the world this phrase has never been more apt.
Things That Divide Us will run at 53Two until October 1st so if you are in Manchester and fancy pre-drinks with a twist, this fully accessible theatre is located under the arches next to Beetham Tower and only a short walk from the Deansgate-Castlefield Metrolink Stop!