Review: BONES by Lewis Aaron Wood at Theatre Peckham 6 - 8 May 2022

‘combines the power of sport with the precision and elegance of dance to produce a spectacle’ ★★★★

A blinding back-light, a square of grass, an oval ball on a kicking-tee, and four men dance their way through a passage of brutal play in a rugby match. It’s a bold, arresting, totally earned opening to a short (45 minutes) play that uses rugby football, and the aggressively bantering community of players, to examine masculinity, vulnerability, neuro-divergence, and a lot of other things not previously associated with rugby football, league or union.

The concept is brilliant. The choreographed passages of play, and particularly the training sessions with a tackle-bag, are convincing and quite beautiful. The performances are all sincere and touching, Ronan Cullen bringing power and elegance, as well as vulnerability, to the central role of Ed. While Ed can deal with physical trauma, he is completely thrown by depression and mental turmoil, and Ronan Cullen explores this complicated mind-set really deftly. Sam Hoult and Ainsley Fannen are his baffled team-mates, who have to realise that ‘manning up’ isn’t the answer to everything. Ainsley Fannen charts his character’s voyage from laddishness to supportiveness, and though the writing (Lewis Aaron-Wood, playwright) brings about the transformations and the happy outcomes very abruptly, Ainsley Fannen made the choppy journey convincing. They are well supported by James McKay in a variety of roles, not least that he was recently a club rugby player.

The set, by designer Aaron Templeman, is economical and effective, J. P. Riley’s grating sound design signals Ed’s turmoil, even if it sometimes overwhelmed the dialogue, and the direction by Daniel Blake is exceptional. He has combined the power of sport with the precision and elegance of dance to produce a spectacle, in a tight space, that conveys the sporting set-ups and the dramatic cruxes very effectively indeed.

BONES at Theatre Peckham (Peckham Fringe)

6 – 8 May 2022

Written by Lewis Aaron Wood, directed by Daniel Blake, and produced by Redefine Theatre company in association with Theatre Peckham

Instagram: @redefine_movement

​Reviewer

Chris Lilly read Drama at Hull University in the 70s, stage-managed a bit, spent 8 years as a community arts worker in Tower Hamlets, did the occasional tech job, then taught in East London and participated in shedloads of community theatre. Since retiring from teaching, he has acquired an MA in 'Theatre' from the University of Surrey and indulged a passion for live performance anywhere in London courtesy of his Freedom Pass. Twitter @starsshinestill