Review: THE AWAKENING, Brockley Jack Theatre

A disturbed young man clings to the Bible as he clings to his sanity, his terrible crime in the past but his mind crowded with confusion. In solitary confinement, he has just one visitor, an evangelical Christian lay preacher who wishes to save his soul as much for her personal gratification as for his wellbeing. After a prison guard attacks him, the preacher takes the young man to a remote island where a woman, to whom the preacher was a surrogate parent some ten years earlier, is struggling to run the family farm. The two young people are left together: both lonely, both unhappy, they edge around each other as winter turns to spring.

With echoes of Equus (the actors even look a bit like Peter Firth and Jenny Agutter), Julian Garner's award-winning play is an eerie, at times distressing, at times inspiring, slow-burn thriller that draws its audience into a closed world and then winds up the tension. This is drama at its most unsugared, full-on commitment required from those on both sides of the fourth wall - it's an impressive debut by DL Productions, a company to watch.

This stuff only works if the acting makes you not just believe, but care, and director Madelaine Moore is served wonderfully well by her two principals. Alex Dowding's Johannes sweats, shouts and stares, pulling off the considerable feat of creating a sympathetic character without us ever forgetting his appalling crime. If Dowding loses that balance once, he loses the audience and play collapses - it is acting of the highest order.

Joana Nastari is equally good as Uun, turning from self-pity to optimism almost imperceptibly, without ever losing credibility as teenage angst is displaced by adult emotions. They get good support from Grace Cookey-Gam, whose preacher role is important if somewhat underwritten, and Jarren Dalmeda, who radiates menace as prison guard Iversen.

This play refuses to take the easy options, denies us the satisfaction that comes with glib solutions, yet never places its "issues" ahead of its "drama". It won't be to everyone's taste - it's not meant to be after all - but for those willing to invest their time and emotional energy, the quid pro quo is significant. And if any students are about to start at drama school, I'd urge them to head to south-east London, because you won't see two more accomplished performances on the fringe this year than Dowding's and Nastari's.

The Awakening continues at the Brockley Jack Theatre until 24 September.

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