Leigh Hodges, wife of a once-beloved high school teacher, finds herself thrust into the turbulent aftermath of her husband’s imprisonment. Standing by him amidst doubt and scrutiny, Leigh navigates the ultimate test of love, truth, and loyalty. Each revelation forces her to re-evaluate their life together while she struggles to shield their son Nicholas.
As family bonds strain and secrets unravel, this gripping drama explores the profound impact of a conviction for sexual misconduct and how it impacts their lives, close friends, and wider community. With its thrilling exploration of the collateral damage of past and present actions, 23.5 Hours delves deep into the complexities of trust, family dynamics, and the pursuit of justice.
__Assisted Perfromances:__
Captioned: Tue 24 Sep 19.30
Audio Described: Sat 28 Sep 15.00 and touch tour at 14.00
Parents & Babies: Thu 3 Oct 11.00 Babes in arms under 1 year go free.
At its best, Crim’s dialogue is natural, effervescent and brilliant. But as the play progresses, it begins to flow like a series of moral questions rather than an advancing narrative. The crime itself becomes secondary to its fallout, with the characters thrown into a frenzy of uncertainty. In the leading role of Leigh, Lisa Dwan looks increasingly more broken by each interaction with her husband. We watch as she tries to squeeze herself back into her once adoring marriage. But her instinctive physical discomfort gives away the feelings she wants to be able to forget. As Tom, David Sturzaker’s gentle, unthreatening tone grows to become more sinister.
When it was first staged in America a decade ago the piece was entitled Conviction, a slick play on words. Katharine Farmer, who directed Crim’s rape drama Never Not Once at this venue in 2022, doesn’t always seem at ease with the abrupt transitions from soul-searching to sitcom-style humour. The result is that there were moments of laughter at inappropriate moments, especially in an overlong second half. Nevertheless, Dwan always holds our attention. We head home with unanswered questions tumbling around in our head.
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