Loosely inspired by Sophocles’ Antigone, Alexander Zeldin’s new play is a powerful portrayal of a family who, overwhelmed by grief and shame, find themselves locked in a battle that will ultimately have no winners. And it is a loose take on the Greek tragedy – there is no dead brother for Antigone (here called Annie) to bury here: instead, the sticking point is the fate of the ashes of Annie (Emma D’Arcy) and Issy’s (Alison Oliver) unnamed father’s ashes ten years after his death.
Their uncle Chris (Tobias Menzies) has been renovating his dead brother’s house, creating a home for his wife (Nina Sosanya) and stepson (Lee Braithwaite) – the new sliding garden doors throwing light across the living area, practically still a building site, and accentuating the feeling that there is nowhere to hide on Rosanna Vize’s set. James Farncombe’s lighting casts a foreboding glow on the trees that hang above the set.
As part of the revamp, Chris wants to scatter his brother’s ashes in an attempt to move forward with his life. Issy supports the move; Annie, returning home for the first time in two years, does not – she wants them to remain in the home. Zeldin slowly builds the tension, beginning before Annie has even entered the house. It continues a steady upward tick until the play’s crushing conclusion. Yannis Philippakis’ subtle compositions undercut the action with brooding soundscapes. To all intents and purposes, this is an unrelenting psychological horror, drawing audible gasps from the audience at key moments.
It works so well because of the incredible performances across the cast, who (as with Zeldin’s previous work) helped to devise the dialogue in rehearsals. Menzies winds himself tighter and tighter, a man working to contain himself as he teeters on the brink as Chris struggles to deal with Annie. D’Arcy seems to hold Annie’s soul open at all times and her attempt to cling to her father’s ashes to keep herself afloat is intensely moving.
There is not enough being said about Alison Oliver’s theatrical output. This is the young actress’s fourth London production in just 18 months, including devastating central performances in Portia Coughlan at the Almeida and Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa on the Olivier Stage. Here, she delivers a tragic and understated performance as Issy, who in trying to keep the peace while remaining loyal to her sister, finds herself a victim of events. There is strong support from Braithwaite and Sosanya as Chris’s suffering family and Jerry Killick as Terry whose early comic relief gives way to seediness as his inhibitions drop.
Clocking in at just 80 minutes without an interval, Zeldin shows that sometimes less is more – which is good as you might find yourself holding your breath for the duration.
Rating: ★★★★★
