A tense and psychological thriller by Shelagh Stephenson, and presented in The Forge Theatre by Bolton Little Theatre. It tells the story of a middle-aged couple who are trying to come to terms with the unexplained disappearance of their 20-year old son five months ago as he was backpacking his way round the world. The only real news they are able to cling onto is his last email to them saying he was travelling to Jakarta. They seek the help of a Psychic and even consider appealing through a TV documentary which turns out to be something of a deal fraught with little compassion or regard for the true facts, just as long as it gets viewers and ratings.
Finally they get word that their son is alive, well and is arriving home, and the first act ends with their reunion at the airport - or does it? - It’s not their son!
The second act gets really quite dark and just when they think their nightmares were over, in reality they are just beginning. Who is this young man who is now, out of the kindness of their hearts, living with them? Is his story of amnesia and simply finding their son's rucksack and assuming it his true? And why does he look uncannily like their son? Is there something far more sinister going on that no-one is aware of?
In a plot that gives you more twists than a Jive Workout, I was still able to second-guess most of them. Maybe I have had a misspent youth watching too much Inspector Morse. However, the end was a surprise, a very strange ending and for me, totally unsatisfactory, but that is a fault in the writing.
The Forge Theatre at Bolton Little Theatre is, if you are unaware, a studio space which is very small and intimate. The acting area is a thrust space with only 2 rows of seats on the three sides, and the forth side having 2 entrances for the cast. It's a very liberating space though too, and forces both directors and actors to think outside the box. Sets have to be minimalist, multi-purpose or non-existent, and the acting has to be truthful. Anything less than real, and there's nothing to protect you - no curtain, no footlights, no pit, no nothing; you are, as an actor, laid completely bare. 
The choice of play and venue combined was actually very brave. But did they manage to pull it off? Well, sadly, for me, no they didn't really manage it, sorry.
First, the set design by Jeff Lunt 'and team' was a confusion of styles. We were presented with a lovely occasional table and real cupboard; but then were asked to believe that three black stage blocks made up the rest of the furniture in a wealthy upper-middle class home. The book shelves were painted black and were an extension of the back wall, making these shelves look like part of a different and third set design. The three blocks were moved to different places during the overlong scene changes, but I was left wondering why, since we were always ostensibly in the same room. The table, bookshelves and cupboard never once moved, and yet, we were told that at least one scene was in the couple's garden and the final scene of the first act was at the airport!
Moreover, this unfocused and confused feel entered into the directing too. Characters wandered around the stage aimlessly, especially Joyce (Sue Gill), and there were times when they used the floor as a seat, slumping their arms across one of the stage boxes. It was never clear what these actions represented, and it seemed at times that they were simply walking there or standing in that spot because that was how it was blocked, not because that is how it should have been or whether it felt right to do so.
I saw the play on a Sunday afternoon performance, which I think is a brilliant idea. Perform a play when no-one else is doing so, in order to maximise chances of a decent audience. Sadly yesterday afternoon's show wasn't even half full, and the theatre only seats 60. However, I think some of the cast had that 'Sunday Afternoon' feeling too, since they really could have done with upping the pace and upping their game on stage. The dialogue and the action becoming rather sluggish at times, and the actors needed to pick up on their cues and make the whole thing a lot neater.
Stephen Davies portrayed the lost son who wasn't, Adam, with an intensity and realness that was quite scary. Immensely watchable, and frighteningly good. After the negative comments above, I must give praise where praise is most certainly due; and this young actor gave a very real and exciting performance. The ante was upped the moment he stepped on stage, and without him, the second act would have dragged unbearably. Ably assisting him, and putting in a very likeable and real performance was Chris Moxon as Gordon. His characterisation of a labour back-bencher grandfather to the lost boy and his relationship with his daughter and the strange new Adam were very well-placed and totally believable. Less believable were the couple themselves, but their rowing was much better placed than other emotions they were given to go through, and improved in the second half. They are difficult roles to play, and do indeed need to go through a whole gambit of emotions, and as the protagonists of the piece do need to be on stage majority of the time too, but in such an intimate space there can be no faking it, and I simply did not believe Lia's (Emma Morris) grief, nor Nick's (Lee Ward) indignance; nor did I believe that they were actually a happily married couple there was so little chemistry between them. Finally, two performances which for me sadly, really made little or no impression. Both characters could have shone and brought a little comedy into the darkness, but this never happened. Sue Gill as the Psychic was not allowed to make the most of her role, and as such it came across as insipid. No-one believed for a moment that she was actually in contact with the spirit world, and even the fakers of this derided art, fake with impunity! And Joanne, the unscrupulous TV producer was given a really rather bland interpretation by Laura Thompson, but did manage a nice change of dynamic when faced with Adam's direct onslaught and verbal rape.
It was a very mixed bag full of mixed messages; which when faced with a play that already itself has many loose ends and unanswered questions isn't very helpful. It needs solid directing and truthful focused acting, with everything being consistent and matching.
Bolton Little Theatre have produced and no doubt will continue to produce absolutely excellent productions, and have a reputation as being one of the leading societies in the area, and so I felt a little let down by this production of theirs, since it simply did not come up, on inspection, to the high standards that one has come to expect from them.
Reviewer: Mark Dee
Reviewed: 24th January 2016
