Review: BOTTLED, VAULT Festival

BBC Writers Room's Hayley Wareham and Flux Theatre present bottled, a jarring original play about domestic abuse.

Directed by Chris White and performed in support of Women's Aid, it's a painfully accurate account of violence seen through the eyes of a regular teenager.

Katy is 15 years old and, as most young women that age, she is self-involved and rather immature but nothing escapes her gaze. We see the first bruises on her mum's face while she starts being isolated by her new husband, Brian.

Their auntie doesn't come around anymore and her mother gets chastised for stopping to speak to a friend at the shops. The horrifying events seep through the script as performed by three actresses. Katy is portrayed by Isabel Stone, Alice Vilanculo, and Wareham herself, who take turns to be the girl and other characters.

It's when they come together to deliver crucial lines at the same time that the effect is truly striking. The trio is a well-oiled machine, owning the narrative and bouncing off each other's energy with synergy.

The strong script combined with White's fairly strict direction tackle the issue with a fresh take and the distinctive way in which it's told distinguishes bottled by giving a voice to the abused's daughter.

Wareham focuses on the crucial importance of refuges and how the cuts impacting them might have fatal consequences for women and their families. She doesn't shy away from depicting the chilling events but does so subtly but effectively, proving to be a mature and sensitive playwright.

Bottled runs at VAULT Festival until 17 February.

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