REVIEW: EUCHARIST by Saskia Mollard and Tobias Abbott at Etcetera Theatre 15 - 19 June 2024

‘the dialogue was crisp and compelling in this thriller, holding the audience with its slow reveals’ ★★★★

Some stories are hard to believe. Some love stories aren’t meant to be. Similar to Lucy Prebble’s The Effect, a young couple meet in a clinical setting and develops a courtship. That is where most of the similarities between the two plays end. In this sci-fi flavoured story, we see a world in which organ transplantation is much easier and more common.(Forget the morals - this is a world that gives access to newer, younger organs if you have the means to pay.) Strangely though, it hasn’t resolved the perpetual problem of how to find one’s car in a multi-level car park.

Clara (Saskia Mollard) meets Ben (Tobias Abbott), a kind and caring young man, who turns out to have some means. As she recovers from donating her heart to an unknown recipient for a significant sum, he starts to show her the care and, indeed, love, that she most needs at this time. And even as Clara faces the very imminent possibility of dying young, Ben is steadfast in his support (and control) of her.

And this is where a couple of (knife) twists occur that we definitely didn’t see coming. The first one works well; the second is dubious. Throughout, the dialogue was crisp and compelling in this thriller, holding the audience with its slow reveals. The pace was solid, at 75 minutes, and the acting was convincing, even if at times the plot pushed the boundaries of credibility.

The black box style set has two chairs moved around. The props came out of clear plastic medical bags, on top of chalk letters on the floor. The bags are tossed and strewn on the stage, creating a sense of order becoming disorder.

Mollard had such expressive facial expressions (whether depressed, incredulous, cynical) for the emotions of the moment and a surprisingly good singing voice, as shown in a karaoke scene. Abbott takes on the caring yet mysterious role with tight control. Together, the two perform a story for a rapt audience and really do leave an effect, believe it or not.

Written by Saskia Mollard and Tobias Abbott

Performed by Saskia Mollard and Tobias Abbott

Directed by Josh Maughan.

Produced by Springbok Production House

Reviewed by Mariam Mathew