Review: X, Royal Court Theatre, April 6 2016

Playwright Alistair McDowall has been hailed as one to watch out for in British theatre. His production of Pomona last year at the National Theatre was championed by critics and theatre-goers and so much anticipation surrounds his latest play, X currently being staged at the Royal Court's Jerwood Theatre Downstairs. The production takes place on a research base on Pluto, where the crew have lost contact with earth and can do nothing but sit tight and hope that someone will rescue them.

The gripping two-and-a-half hour long story is directed by Vicky Featherstone and the fast paced plot is superbly acted by the five strong cast as they slowly lose all sense of time, resulting in their mental decline. While they wait for the base on earth to contact them, Captain Ray (Darrell D'Silva) has decided that he wants to live out his days on the planet rather than face going back to earth where the space programme will force him into retirement. He is one of the few on-board who remembers trees and his description of the day the birds fell from the sky is truly chilling. The rest of the crew is comprised of geologist Gilda (brilliantly played by Jessica Raine), communications and tech expert Clark (James Harkness) and meteorologist Cole (Rudi Dharmalingam).

However as the radio silence moves from days into weeks, months and years the crew find themselves breaking down. Ray is convinced he's seen a young girl outside the base window, one with an X shaped scar over her mouth. The creepiness takes on a whole other level when the girl herself emerges and a young girl's voice can be heard laughing in the eerie silence of the sterile research facility. The crew have no concept of time - the on-board clock has broken and the darkness of space outside the window offers no clue and so they lose their grip on reality.

Assuming you know what's going on is futile in this play - realities are skewed until the audience is left in a confused state, watching the characters trying to make sense of what is going on around them. Merle Hensel's set of skewed chambers brilliantly depicts the loneliness and isolation the characters feel billions of miles away from the human race while the combined talents of Tal Rosner (Video Designer), Nick Powell (Sound Designer) and Lee Curran (Lighting Designer) make for a strong visual experience. This is one production guaranteed to have people scratching their heads as they leave the theatre, but also one that has its audience members gripped throughout.

Photo Credit: Tristram Kenton