Review: MOMENT OF GRACE by Bren Gosling at The Hope Theatre 28 June - 16 July 2022

‘… a reminder that life is ultimately made of moments, some of which can be truly world changing’ ★★★★ ½

A story about Diana? ‘Do we really need another one’ you’re thinking. We have The Crown, as well as the recent movie with that vampire actress, and now a documentary on Netflix called The Princess. Do we really need a play about a single moment in this monarch’s life?

Interleaving three monologues, Bren Gosling shapes the stories of three imagined characters involved in the event of Princess Di’s ground-breaking visit to Britain’s first HIV/AIDS ward at Middlesex Hospital in 1987. This year is the 35th anniversary of that visit. And, as we come out of a pandemic, it serves as a reminder that there was a time not so long ago when the world was unsure about how to handle a strange virus and allowed it to divide us. How true the axiom that history repeats itself.

Through ward nurse Jude (NARISHA LAWSON), we learn of the difficulties faced by health workers during the height of the AIDS epidemic and homophobic perspectives are laid out to bare. This compassionate nurse has gruelling shifts and daily worries that she might have lost another patient overnight. On top of that, she has to deal with ignorance and alarm from friends and strangers alike. Performed energetically and joyfully by Lawson, this character provides much of the humour and light of the production, despite having to share lines that demonstrate people’s thinking at the time, such as “I hope they find a cure, just not too soon”.

The firefighter, Donnie (RICHARD COSTELLO), is a man of his time and through his narrative, it is revealed that he has a real connection to the hospital, one that he has to come to terms with. Costello is convincing, perhaps pulling from his own previous experience as a firefighter, as a man working through his own understanding of masculinity. Through him, we are reminded of the general public’s views on those in the ward and the gay community in general, at that time in history. 

Andrew (JAMES TAYLOR-THOMAS), a patient in the ward, is performed with great control and some level of pathos, though given the least opportunity for greater dimensionality. He shares his experience of being in the HIV/AIDS ward and the hopes and dreams he had for his life, as well as the struggles with his own family when he came out to them.

Each narrator tells their version of homophobia, ignorance and fear through their lens. With the simplest of sets, three wooden stools and lighting directed at the speaker, these stories weave a complete picture of what happened in that moment when a princess took off her gloves and shook hands with the pariahs of the day.

A fourth character, though mentioned at some point by each of the play’s characters, who never makes the stage himself is Ed, based on Shane Snape, the nurse in Geriatrics who was living with HIV and was interviewed after meeting Diana. Through him, the story connects these three individuals who share their lens on what happened that day when a princess came through the doors of the hospital.

So, the answer as to whether we need another story about Diana is a resounding yes, but with a different take.

Moment of Grace provides a different focus of the Diana story, because ultimately, it’s not about her. This is about the power of belief. It is a story about using one’s power to change a narrative. This is a story about a group of people who needed a chance to hope for grace and a reminder that life is ultimately made of moments, some of which can be truly world changing.

MOMENT OF GRACE

The Hope Theatre

28 June - 16 July 2022

Box Office:

https://www.thehopetheatre.com/productions/moment-of-grace/

Written by Bren Gosling

Performed by Richard Costello, Narisha Lawson, James Taylor-Thomas

Directed by Su Gilroy

Assistant Director: Theresa Burke-Findlay

Stage Manager: Sophy Leys Johnston

Lighting Programmer: Laurel Marks

Reviewed by Mariam Mathew