Content warning: Car crash, Death
Grief is a strange thing. It impacts and affects us all differently, but there’s a cycle that runs true for most. The five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance; Wreckage beautifully – but brutally – plays these out on stage, in a gripping one-act tale between two lovers.
As someone who has experienced grief, this was a show that I related with a lot – perhaps too much. In summary: this show is like being inside my brain. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing I’ll leave up to you to decide.
Written by Tom Ratcliffe (who also performs in the show as Sam) and produced by the Harlow Playhouse, Wreckage holds no punches as it explores carrying on after a traumatic event. As the name suggests, mere moments into the play we’re shown an image of a car crash, which plays out multiple times. (This is something I think the content disclaimers could make a little clearer.) Sam’s partner Noel (Michael Walters) is tragically killed, and we see how Sam plays this scene out again and again, refusing to believe that he’s lost the person he loves. At its heart, Wreckage is an intimate queer story between lovers.
The pacing of the play is incredibly strong – snappy scene changes and clever dialogue keep you fully engaged and gripped with the drama, waiting to see what happens next. There are some incredibly poignant moments that will bring you to tears, but also some incredibly funny parts too – the writing truly is exceptional and is one of the strongest parts of the show. Despite being told in a non-chronological order, the layering is very delicate, giving you just enough information to get a glimpse into Sam’s viewpoint whilst not overwhelming with unnecessary details.
Both Ratcliffe and Walters’ performances are incredibly strong, with a raw grittiness to the characters that, to my mind, reflect the virtues of ‘real life’ – we can fight, we can make up, and we can be deeply attached to and affected by the ones we love. However, towards the middle of the play, once we get introduced to Sam’s new partner Christian (part of the bargaining/depression/acceptance phases), I did sometimes find it a little challenging to immediately tell whether Christian or Noel was in the scene – Walters remains on stage throughout, and there wasn’t always enough differentiation between the two characters. Whilst this clever characterisation can help to show the similarities between the men and suggest why Sam wants to move on, it did at times become a little bit confusing, despite other hints from lighting.
Another recurring theme throughout the show is memory, and how events in our lives can have a significant impact on how we look back on time with loved ones. The show handles the fragility of human memory in an incredibly interesting and unique way; the impact of grief on relationships is contrasted both through rose-tinted glasses and a more realistic – or even negative – lens. This allows us to get a fascinating insight into the relationship between grief and guilt, inviting the audience to take stock of their own life experiences.
Regular readers will know that I’m a big fan of costuming, staging and direction, and by and large Wreckage got this just right. Simple, identical costumes for Sam and Noel/Christian kept the focus on the story and the characters, whilst the use of hanging vines nicely framed the stage as well as becoming a visual representation of the stages of grief later in the show. Similarly, the lighting was largely subdued and simple, with deliberate choices made to sync with the dialogue and audio to highlight key moments. That said, at times I felt that the changes could have been bolder, particularly where they were being used to assist in differentiating between characters.
However, sadly, I felt the use of projections fell rather flat, and detracted from an otherwise fantastic piece. Whilst they did provide important context at times – for example a calendar indicating the passage of time – overall they felt too simplistic. In my opinion, they should only have been used when necessary – or even replaced entirely. I’m a big fan of less being more in shows like this (see my thoughts on LIFT, which also explores the stages of grief).
Nevertheless, Wreckage is a thought-provoking and powerful piece of theatre, and one of the best ‘explanations’ of grief I’ve ever seen. Whilst it is at times an incredibly uncomfortable watch, it is because it is dealing with such ‘real’ emotions, and ones that I could both relate to and understand all too well: it isn’t uncomfortable because it’s ‘bad’, it’s uncomfortable because it’s true.
It doesn’t feel right to say that I ‘enjoyed’ the play, but it is a production that I absolutely appreciated.
Wreckage is playing at The Turbine Theatre until 22 January. Tickets are available.
Press Night invitation. Ad gifted.
