Review: THE COLOURS, Soho Theatre

Close your eyes. Think happy thoughts. Imagine that the waves are gently pushing the water to your feet. Be at peace with yourself and your surroundings. Feel better?

Five people are lying on a Welsh beach, slowly processing their existence as they near the end of their lives. Billed by the company as a 'rollercoaster ride of the human imagination' it feels anything but, as the action that's presented is rather mundane.

The play has been created from interviews conducted with patients at Ty Olwen Hospice in Swansea and Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff. People were interviewed about their experiences of death, dying and end of life care, before Harriet Madeley put it all together to create The Colours.

The ensemble, directed by Max Barton, all wear headphones; which allows them to hear the interviewees, before repeating their text to the audience. This verbatim-led approach could be appealing, however the company stumble on their words and make a bit of a mess of the delivery. The speech comes across unclear and therefore has little impact.

Add to this the fact that you can faintly hear the transcripts coming through the devices, and you get a rather jarring experience as an audience member. Intertwined with the text are these strange movement sequences; which unfortunately shows how hard the company find it to stay in sync with one another.

At its core Crowded Room's production has good intentions, but at 90-minutes it doesn't give you enough to fully retain your focus. There are a lot of words spoken, without much substance behind them. The odd moments are impactful; and these occasions usually come from Morfydd Clark and Claire-Marie Hall, who stand out amongst the group with their authentic performances.

Reading other reviews, it seems like the play made much more of an impact to other people, but for me, The Colours lacks any real sense of spark and urgency.

The Colours at Soho Theatre until 17 August

Photo: The Colours

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