Review: DISTANCE, Park Theatre

With suicide being the most prolific killer amongst men under 40, Alex McSweeney and Simon Pittman have teamed up to uncover the reasons why. Following on from their successful run of Out of the Cage, the pair, alongside Fine Line return to the Park Theatre to present the world premiere of Distance.

Steven is recently divorced and desperately struggling to cope. Turning to drink, he's erratic, angry and is slowly distancing himself away from everyone else. Adam Burton plays the man on the brink of collapse and is competent in doing so. However, with all the will in the world, Burton's lead just isn't believable, and it could be down to a number of reasons.

The first, he's been directed by Pittman to be overtly physical, which means he comes across too caricature. It would have been much more interesting to see him be more internal - to suffer from the inside. And the second reason is that McSweeney hasn't written the character with enough layers, so as an audience we aren't provided with enough to be able to identify with.

Is he the protagonist? Are we meant to feel sorry for him? He comes across as an incredibly alienating figure, which does nothing to serve the narrative that we're meant to sympathise. But maybe instead we should just recognise; and see how his pattern of behaviour can be reflected in modern day society.

Pittman's production offers no solutions, but at the same time doesn't offer that much in terms of excitement. At 90 minutes it drags on, which is a shame because it could have been dramaturged in a way where it's a crisp one-hour thriller that entertains and educates. With the additional fillers it becomes repetitive and sluggish.

However, the piece does have two saving graces: Bethany Wells' design is superb, giving us a train window that projects onto the frames the passing countryside, as well as Steven's various neurological scans. The second highlight is Doreene Blackstock's performance. She expertly multi-roles, providing some much needed comedy, whilst at the same time finds a deep-rooted conviction in her portrayal of Folami - a person sent to 'save' Steven.

But impressive design and strong performances can't save this production from being a glib and oversimplified mishmash of ideas. It's a tremendous shame that this play, which discusses such important issues, falls flat at the majority of opportunities.

Distance at the Park Theatre until 29 September

Photo credit: Richard Davenport

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