Messianic ecstasy or agonising crucifixion? Beki Moore divulges.
Usually I enjoy, and often prefer, going to the theatre alone. Therefore, I was quite excited to see “Eden”, a two person show directed by Andrew Flynn, in the Everyman theatre last Tuesday. However, as the first act of the show played out, I began to feel a lot less enthusiastic and a lot more like Chandler from Friends stuck in that one-woman show unable to escape.
“Wonderwall” was one of the songs chosen to set the scene of the performance as we waited in our seats, which was enough to set off warning bells in my head. Looking back, I know now that the familiar, safe, overplayed song was in fact the perfect foreshadowing of what was to come. Whilst there were touching moments in the play that would attempt to break your heart in sympathy, they were few and far between. What was accomplished was a very safe version of what could have been a much more interesting piece of theatre.
Understandably a two person show comes with many challenges for director, actor and audience alike, and for this I make slight allowances for the occasional dip in energy and lag in concentration. However, with a minimalistic set of just bench and a coloured backdrop and the sparing use of any movement from the actors, when the energy dropped there was not much left to fall back on for entertainment as an audience member. The opening image of the two actors, Patrick Ryan and Lesley Conroy, shadowed against the beautifully lit backdrop was visually stunning. Unfortunately, the beauty was far and few between after that.
In alternating monologues, the story based itself around a few days in the life of married couple Billy and Breda. I have seen this monologue technique used in many shows to great effect yet in this case I found it to be extremely lacking. The actors did not seem to warm up properly until the second act which made the repetitiveness of the monologues seem more like a school child reciting their two times tables. Especially in the first act, I didn’t feel as though the actors were consistently strong enough to capture and hold the attention of a crowded theatre. Judging by the whispers from people all around me at various stages of the performance, I was not alone in this opinion.
A point of salvation for this show, for me, was the characterisation. Although it took a while for it to become apparent, the actors succeeded in the vilification and victimisation of Billy and Breda respectively. Whenever other characters came into play, the actors did a good job of separating who they were speaking as and keeping it easy to follow. Once I found myself truly believing in these characters, the show became more enjoyable and I began to forgive the times of low energy and focus more on the storyline. There were moments when I wished it were a melodramatic piece or pantomime, so that I could scream at Ryan’s character to stop acting so shady or offer consoling words to Conroy’s heartbreaking experiences. The script definitely succeeded in capturing the essence of a marriage that really isn’t working anymore and the struggles to keep a family together. The use of music and accent was another oasis for me throughout the performance. They served to provide and maintain an atmosphere throughout the show which also served to break up the monotony of two voices regurgitating large chunks of text.
All in all, I feel that the script could have been approached with a lot more creativity and energy. The director seems to have taken the road frequently travelled on in this venture. With what could have been a two person show that was a peek into the world of marriage as Mark O’ Rowe’s Howie the Rookie was a glance into the trials of the young adult, this was a real disappointment.
