Review by Katie Shaw
One Day When We Were Young is a brilliant play in three parts about love, loss, hope and nostalgia, written by Nick Payne and directed by James Haddrell. It follows Violet and Leonard, two people who start as lovers, morph into strangers, and age into memories.
Starting out at the height of the Second World War in Bath, 1942, a young and optimistic Violet (Cassie Bradley) is in a hotel room with a worrisome Leonard (Barney White) on the eve of his conscription. Restless over where the morning might take him, he cannot sleep, so stands at the window watching the moon. Violet wakes up and watches Leonard looking out at the moon and the silence that fills the theatre is deafening, brilliantly capturing the void of the War years.
Here, Violet is childlike: wildly optimistic, innocent, and a little naive, suggesting that Leonard try counting sheep or sleeping on the other side of the bed to help him sleep, masking the underlying angst felt by the two of them over the War and facing the reality that this could well be their last night together. Imagining their future together after the War, through trembling tones, Violet promises to wait for Leonard for as long as it takes. This tender promise ends with an explosion: the hotel is bombed and the two lovers scarper.
Nothing lasts forever – the childlike innocence and naivety has disappeared when we next meet Violet: in a park in Bath, twenty years on, where she and Leonard reunite for the first time. Leonard is much the same: he’s still got that East London charm, and still looks at Violet the way he once did. Now married to John with two teenagers, and seemingly only able to discuss different types of washing machines, Violet’s behaviour is far more refined and mature than when Leonard last saw her, and it is clear that these former lovers are nothing more than strangers now. Despite Leonard voicing his pain over losing out on a life and love with Violet, Violet rejects his advances, and the two leave each other as strangers once more.
Culminating in the era of Oasis and Nokia 1011s, an elderly, slower and weaker Violet and Leonard reunite. After slow small talk over Jaffa Cakes having no Value Added Tax, and breaking a bottle of wine, Violet confesses that she has not quite moved on from the time they spent together in Bath in 1942, contrasting Leonard’s attitude that they should move on from the War. This tender scene masks a deeper, underlying meaning: where Violet holds regret and despair for not waiting for Leonard all those years ago, Leonard has finally got the courage to protect himself and his emotions from the one woman he ever loved; the tragic consequence of their fortuitously mismatched timelines.
Despite parts of the dialogue and conversation being rather slow-paced and prolonged, Bradley and White are superb as Violet and Leonard. They bring emotion, passion, humour, and a natural chemistry to the characters and the story. The story and characters really speak to those who cannot let an old love go, and for those who yearn for nostalgia and time gone by. It is a well-written play that tugs on your heartstrings and leaves you feeling contemplative about the heart of the message of the play: that if you have someone or something that is dear to you, keep them close, because you never know when that spark might burn out – or when you might get burnt.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (Very Good)
One Day When We Were Young is at Park Theatre, London, until 22 March 2025
