What a lovely black box the Camden People’s Theatre has. Currently playing is Gods Are Fallen And All Safety Gone by Selma Dimitrijevic, a superb piece of writing either elevated or marred by a strange experiment, which is either a silly gimmick or clever piece of producing.
The play is about parenthood, more specifically motherhood. A daughter comes over to visit her mother, and slowly discovers to her chagrin that the mother is clearly getting very ill. The writing, and acting is masterful, masterpieces of restraint. After three cyclical scenes we have a much slower scene where the ladies try to achieve closure on their relationship.
There are two twists in the production. The first is that on the stage, sitting by a table doing a puzzle are two women. These two women do nothing but sit there, watch the show and accept some applause at the end, from which I assume one of them is the writer. From a fringe point of view this reviewer appreciated the lack of explanation of their presence.
The second is that both the women are played by men. Now this is not a dig at the two actors, they both do a fantastic job. Sean Campion is heartbreaking as the mother and Scott Turnbull‘s inner conflict is apparent througout the show. However it is a bit frustrating to see two great actresses parts go to men, for apperently no reason.
That being said the company has no duty to make theatre for actresses and we should assume they have good reasons for their decisions, even if it is notimmediately apperent.
Even if it slows down by the end, this shows is and example of excellent writing and acting in a great venue. Well worth a night out. 3.5/5
Review written by Ingimar Sverrisson.
Gods Are Fallen And All Safety Gone is currently showing at the Camden People’s Theatre until Sunday 31st May. For more information on the production, visit here…
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