Review: OUT OF THE DARK, Rose Theatre

A new family face the most testing of circumstances when their beautiful new baby girl is diagnosed with a potentially life-changing condition. Out Of The Dark, Suzy Gill's absorbing debut play, explores how a couple deal with the joys and the traumas of life when their child did not form in the way they thought she would.

He and She are parents to Lily. Between them, they relate the story of her birth and then move to when she reaches six months old. All seems normal until Lily starts to have seizures and doctors discover a part of her brain that has not formed properly. The play then delves into the consequences for Lily and for her parents as they adjust to a new reality of constant fear, endless hospital dashes, all interspersed with tender moments of levity and hope.

Lisa Zahra is very convincing as She; a loving mother with a constant feeling of anxiety and dread. She starts smoking again, pushing her husband away due to her feelings of constant terror about her new daughter. Zahra is incredibly expressive and evokes huge empathy for her situation.

Alex Stedman is more relaxed and easygoing as He. Despite the pressure he feels at work and home, Stedman comes across as the younger character. He is generally more positive about the terrible situation; learning a type of sign language just in case Lily is non-verbal and touchingly seeing the space in Lily's head as her potential.

Separately, the actors are both excellent in their characters, but their chemistry together is a little lacking. If they seemed more united in the beginning, it would be more convincing to see how they move away from each other through the stress of the situation. That said, there are some particularly tender moments, such as when they celebrate getting Lily to sleep and end up dancing with each other.

Gill's vivid writing tells this story in spoken-word poetry; using sharply constructed, lyrical dialogue that often feels like a game of poetic ping pong. The use of language is deeply expressive, with elegant and expansive descriptions of feelings, events and thoughts.

The production is deftly directed by Fay Lomas, the inaugural winner of the Peter Hall Emerging Artist Fellowship. Lomas exploits the ebb and flow in the script, which, due to the manner of writing, would be a challenge for the most experienced director.

The production also looks enchanting. Set in the smaller space of the Rose Theatre's Studio, Miriam Nabarro's stripped-back design of a plain white backdrop allows the audience to fully absorb the story. Jai Morjaria's striking lighting design is simple but very effective, with beautifully distorted silver globes hanging from the ceiling. There is also a very clever use of shadows, projected onto the white background in various colours to portray various events and emotions.

This is a tender and very touching play, deftly revealing the light and darkness of a life-changing situation. A captivating production from a very talented team.

Out Of The Dark is at the Rose Theatre until 2 November

Photo Credit: Rose Theatre

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