I try not to read reviews of shows I’ve booked before I see them, but it’s difficult to avoid star ratings coming within your line of vision and impacting your expectations. In this case they lowered them, but the play in performance exceeded them, by quite a lot.
Set in the US, Rebecca Gilman’s play revolves around Caroline, a social worker specialising in child care and custody, and the monumental decisions she has to make. Luna Gale is a child who’s young parents’ drug taking is out of control, resulting in Caroline’s intervention to find both short-term and long-term solutions. The child’s grandmother wants custody, initially temporarily but soon permanently, with her strong religious beliefs driving her. The parents are given the only counselling and rehab that’s available, but its second rate. Caroline is overloaded and her boss is an administrator with little experience, driven by a combination of rules and expediency based on financial considerations, though his objectivity comes into question too. We see Caroline’s propensity to get personally involved through a sub-plot involving a ‘success story’ and we discover she has personal baggage which brings into question her own objectivity. She may be trying to do the right thing, but she may be crossing ethical lines in doing so.
Even though this is set in the US, it could easily be here. What I liked about it is that it covers a lot of important issues effectively, without taking sides (well, except perhaps with the helpless Luna herself), in less than two hours playing time. The plot twists and devices may seem a bit contrived – the audience gasps on a few occasions – but they do facilitate a fascinating discussion on an important subject. My one gripe would be that the slow scene changes (and there are a lot of them) rob it of pace which in turn robs it of some tension. That notwithstanding, it held my attention throughout.
Lucy Osborne has designed a giant backdrop of files in front of which offices, waiting rooms, homes etc are introduced; realistic locations though too slowly created. The performances are outstanding, with Sharon Small cleverly and carefully navigating her complex journey through events and emotions. I was hugely impressed by relative newcomer Alexander Arnold as Peter and his transition from incoherent mess to responsible dad. Rachel Redford follows her impressive performance in the Donmar’s Closer with an equally impressive but more difficult performance as the complex character of Karlie. It’s good to see director Michael Attenborough back at his eighties home directing a new play (though I’m not sure I’ve forgiven him for the Almeida’s Knot of the Heart yet!).
I chose to see this because of my previous experience of seeing five other Gilman plays and I thought it was much better than the critics might have you believe. The lesson seems to be to trust your instincts rather than the critics; taste is a very personal thing. You have two more weeks to make up your own mind.
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