Review: THE VARIOUS METHODS OF ESCAPE, Bread and Roses Theatre
Photo credit: Liviu Monsted
After thirteen years, the search for Grace, a six year old girl who was kidnapped, has finally ended. She’s been returned to her family home, so surely everything can now go back to normal…but what is normal? As she begins the process of learning how to adjust to a new way of living and learning how to live without Gregory, she soon discovers that she’s not the only one struggling to make sense of a world that no longer makes sense.
The origins of this play can be traced back to The Street Theatre in Canberra, Australia in 2019, which ran ‘The Hive Program’. Writer Amber Spooner participated in the programme and this script was the result. A script development program called ‘Script in Hand’ then decided to support the work in 2020 and it was during this time that it caught the eye of Producer/Director Liviu Monsted: “I watched an audience become fixated on a premise that lit their imaginations”. The show made its official Australian premiere in Sydney in 2022. The current production at The Bread and Roses Theatre marks its official London premiere.
We know going into this show, given the subject matter, that it is going to be an uncomfortable watch but we don’t quite anticipate how much of an abrupt shock to the system it will be. As the door closes, plunging the room into semi-darkness, Grace appears on stage playing with paper dolls…and Gregory is behind her. Mitch Howell plays the role of Gregory expertly. His calm demeanour and constant presence is unsettling, his scratchy, gruff voice is intimidating to listen to, and his eyes reveal a disturbing level of obsessive fixation in every scene. This combined with carefully considered writing and subtly detailed direction has everyone frozen in their seats from the very outset. We can’t watch as he lingers in Grace’s mind, attempting to dictate her every move, but we can’t look away. It is a chillingly convincing performance.
It should be said that the casting for this piece is outstanding, with every single performer showing a level of uncanny understanding of the intricacies and complexities of their character. They are so compelling, the audience is with them every step of the way, travelling to the depths of this twisted tale.
But this is not crime fiction and this is not horror. It’s not about the crime committed but the impact in the aftermath following the case closure, something very seldom seen. In this case, the audience reels in anger with Grace’s father as he seeks justice for his precious daughter, we reach out a hand to the mother who has felt she’s had to be strong and unbreakable for so long, and we sympathise with Hope, Grace’s sister, who’s had to play the cheerful role and live in her sister's shadow throughout her whole life.
Watching them triumph and recover is the greatest joy because we are allowed to watch them fall apart and battle with this. Spooner’s real talent as a playwright is in letting people fundamentally be people, she doesn’t overcomplicate this or try to tell the audience about how they should be feeling. She lets her characters move across the stage and lets us dance and feel with them. She’s bold and not afraid to pose difficult questions or challenge us in our reactions. In this instance, she asks us to consider who’s really in control of the narrative, the actor, the character or the audience?
More vitally, she dares us to consider whether we have the capacity to understand and/or show compassion for Gregory, even though it is impossible to justify the numerous crimes he has committed.
This performance is not for the faint of heart. It will shock you to your core and stick with you in a way that only true theatrical masterpieces can. The best kind of theatre is fully committed to the story it's telling and believes in its own importance and that’s exactly what this show is.
Powerful. Horrifyingly stunning. Everlasting.
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Megan O’Neill
