REVIEW: LEAVES OF GLASS by Philip Ridley at Park Theatre 11 May - 03 June 2023

‘Devastating drama that blows up like a bomb; Leaves of Glass is the play about memory you will never forget’ ★★★★★ 

Four simple benches are laid out around a gleaming, black, reflective floor. As Philip Ridley's Leaves of Glass, a play that premiered in 2007, moves through its emotionally-packed one hour and forty-five minutes (with no interval) the floor becomes progressively scuffed, scratched and dirtied. As the foundational structure loses its sheen and becomes murkier, the visual metaphor is not lost on the audience in this gripping, East End family drama that explores the fallibility of memory and inconvenience of truth.

Directed by Max Harrison and produced by Lidless Theatre, the title of the piece suggests fragility, apparent transparency and shifting prisms of light. Light and shadow are used to tremendous effect throughout this beautifully crafted and conceived piece with compelling performances from the ensemble cast. Truth can serve many purposes, especially in the preservation of a family unit but is rarely black or white, ‘like this or like that’. On the surface, this is an ordinary, working class family, looking out for each other and getting on with their lives but there are layers and dark depths, hinted at through layers of wallpaper and a cellar with gnawing rats.

We meet two brothers. Stephen (Ned Costello) is older, together, sharp suited, is in a relationship with child on the way. His professional specialism is erasure (removing unwanted graffiti.) Younger brother, Barry (Joseph Potter) is more into mark-making; expressive and explosive, he struggles with alcoholism and mental health issues. A talented artist who flunked university, he now works for Steven. Their widowed mother, Liz (Kacey Ainsworth - Eastenders’ royalty), surfs the surface with tea, biscuits and plenty of advice. Depressive issues are dealt with briskly, described as "buggy, fluey thingies”. Meanwhile, Steven's girlfriend, Debbie (Katie Buchholz) can't understand why Steven isn't more delighted about the prospect of being a dad.

Ridley's ear for dialogue is masterfully attuned to the repetitions, exclamations and non-sequiturs of working class diction. Every pause and gap feeds the sub-text and allows the audience to weave together their own narrative. Truth changes over time, which is context and narrator dependent, versions of the truth are spoken with intent, to achieve specific goals. Ambiguity presides and buried traumas are played out in stiff movements, rictus expressions and thousand yard stares; subconscious forms of non-verbal communication that signal the unresolved. Ghosts of the past threaten the present and the secret at the heart of this story seeps with brooding menace. A devastating drama that blows up like a bomb, Leaves of Glass is the play about memory you will never forget.

LEAVES OF GLASS by Philip Ridley at Park Theatre in Finsbury Park 11 May - 03 June 2023

Box Office: https://parktheatre.co.uk/whats-on/leaves-of-glass

‘Leaves of Glass’ will then tour to the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford (15 - 17 June) and Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre (10 - 16 July) with tickets going on sale soon.

Creative team:

Director Max Harrison

Set & Costume Desinger Kit Hinchcliff

Sound Designer Sam Glossop

Lighting designer Alex Lewer

Casting Consultant Nadine Rennie CDG

Producer Zoe Weldon / Lidless Theatre

Cast:

Geraldine Alexander (Liz)

Katie Buchholz (Debbie)

Ned Costello (Steven)

Joseph Potter (Barry)

Reviewed by Nilgin Yusuf