Bristol Old Vic Review - i know all the secrets in my world
Posted on: 2016-02-19
Our rating:
It?s dark, but there are also many moments that bring a smile to your face or even a burst of laughter, moments that make you know that they will be OK?once they get through it.
Vivienne Kennedy reviews i know all the secrets in my world, presented by tiata fahodzi in the studio at Bristol Old Vic on Thursday 18th February 2016.
Performed by Solomon Israel and Samuel Nicholas, two adults playing father and child, i know all the secrets in my world is described as being “a play about what happens when speaking is impossible”. It’s a story about loss and grief, but it’s also a story about love.
It opens with the two men playing on a Wii before they are gently chided by a voice offstage to put the controllers down and hurry up with their chores. They clear the table, all the time play-fighting and acting as superheroes, a team of two, that “us and her” situation that you see lovingly played out in families every day. It reminded me of my dad and I - we were always the “us”, ganging up against Mum before always giving in to whatever she wanted us to do.
Then she is gone and it’s just the two of them and they can’t help each other. “Speaking is impossible”.
We watch as individually they try to get through the grieving process. Hold back tears as we see the father only able to say the words “I love you” to his son while he believes him to be asleep. Hold back more tears as we see the father, behind a semi-opaque screen, try to return to his marital bed, where now he has just a pillow for company. Hold back even more tears as he realises that her lips drank from a mug that’s still on the kitchen table, the mug that he then kisses as if it’s her.
We watch the son, still just a child, still trying to play. We watch him trying so hard to make things right.
There are few words, “speaking is impossible”, but glorious choreographed moves, the work of movement director Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster, performed to an amazing soundtrack by Helen Skiera – every individual movement accompanied by the perfect sound.
It’s dark, but there are also many moments that bring a smile to your face or even a burst of laughter, moments that make you know that they will be OK…once they get through it.
The set design, by Alyson Cummins, is clever. The main section is a kitchen, complete with messy worktop and central table; behind it, bedrooms can be seen through gauze screens, giving lighting designer Azusa Ono the chance to create strong effects with light and shadows.
The only concern I have with the set is that from my seat towards the right hand side of the second row (facing stage left) I wasn’t completely sure that I could see everything or whether I was missing key moments taking place on the other side of the room and I definitely couldn’t see some action taking place at floor level. I wish I had sat further back, in the elevated section of seating.
Generally, it’s a beautiful piece of physical theatre that gave me plenty to think about long into the night. It runs until Saturday 20th February.
For further information, including performance times and ticket prices, visit www.bristololdvic.org.uk
3.5 out of 5 stars.
Reviewed by Vivienne Kennedy for 365Bristol - the leading events and entertainment website for Bristol.
Images courtesy of Wasi Daniju.
Article by:
Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
