Review: REEL LIFE, Folio Theatre Company - Online

Originally written for the stage in 2016, but now touring digitally, Alys Metcalf’s Reel Life has been filmed on location in Wiltshire specifically for a digital theatre audience.

Two strangers meet at a remote spot on the edge of a riverbank. Jo is a children’s writer trying to teach herself to fish and Mark is a recluse, slightly eccentric, who has come to practise his Tai Chi.

In a different time and space, a lone stranger (Huw) is addressing a partner from what was once a happy relationship.

Directed by Adam Lenson, it’s a three hander with Lizzie Stables as Jo, Michael Palmer as Mark and Matt Tait as Huw. Their performances are natural and interweave smoothly. 

It’s well written and has dialogue that makes you think deeply without realising it, as we are drawn in to the story and how it might end. It has a natural sound to it and the words create a bonding relationship between each character.

The individual scenes are very separate in styles, but slowly unravel to combine and link together which is an interesting and intriguing idea.

The puns are not only included in the title, they continue throughout providing just the right amount of light to the dark.

Dealing with themes of recovery, love and loss it may be triggering for some viewers.  

The ultimate question though is, what really lies beneath the surface?

Moving, profound and deeply touching.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Rachel Louise Martin

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