Review: SUZY STORCK, Gate Theatre

Suzy Storck is stuck in a routine. Her life is anything but mundane, yet her regular behavioural patterns result in an exhausting struggle through each day. Right from the off we are hit with a domestic tragedy, but at that moment it is unexplained. We just see Suzy alone, drinking wine, listening to the radio, as an overwhelming amount of children's toys are littered around her.

Her children have been locked in the upstairs room, her husband has stormed off, making no statement as to when he'll return, and her mother arrives screaming, before slapping her in the face twice. It's unclear what's happened to get to this dramatic point, but the play takes us on a backwards journey and reveals all.

In Magali Mougel's twisted UK premiere - adapted by Chris Campbell - we see a decomposing corpse seething with life. As an audience, we intrude into Storck's world, and the 75-minute experience is a disturbing one. Jean-Pierre Baro meticulously makes use of the tiny space available; staging it in the round adds to the play's claustrophobic nature, and makes us feel more like an unwanted voyeur.

The performances are superb. Theo Solomon and Kate Duchêne offer deliberately distant commentary from the sides; in their dulcet tones, they provide insight into the couple's history. As Suzy's husband, Hans Vassily, Jonah Russell holds himself aggressively, often getting uncomfortably close to Suzy, asserting his control.

Caoilfhionn Dunne harrowingly conveys Suzy's constant battle. Suffering from post-natal depression, as well as a severe lived experience of domestic abuse, she attempts to still take part in the world. Compromising with her demons, she participates in her repetitive lifestyle passively. Dunne is to be commended for revealing so much without moving a lot. She takes her time in performance, and her pain is highly believable. There is an intense weakness that consumes her entire body.

It takes a little time to make sense of the story, but once we're there, the power of it is undeniable. The true horror is realised in the play's final moments, as Suzy's moment of lapsed concentration results in a finale that leaves the audience so emotionally affected that they're unable to move from their seats after the bows.

Mougel's story is deliberately bleak, and has been written in a way stating that Storck had no other alternative; she never chose this life. It's genuinely brutal, incredibly raw, and primal at its core.

Suzy Storck at The Gate Theatre until 18 November

Photo Credit: Helen Murray

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