Review: 8 HOURS THERE AND BACK, Unity Theatre

All Things Considered Theatre Company opened their latest production, 8 Hours There and Back, at Liverpool’s Unity Theatre on 13 September.

The show, which will tour to venues across the UK, is based on collaborative work between All Things Considered Theatre, Time Matters UK, Families Outside and Unity Theatre and is inspired by the experiences of children and young people who have a parent in prison.

All Things Considered Theatre spent three years completing their research for 8 Hours There and Back, including speaking to children, young people and organisations and reading reports.

Writer Sarah Hogarth has used the research to inform the narrative of 8 Hours There and Back, which follows the lives of three young people called Ruby, Grace and Jake. In 65 minutes, the narrative shares young people’s experiences of having a parent in prison through a mixture of dialogue, dance and visual projections, in this powerful production.

In 8 Hours There and Back, Hogarth’s narrative sensitively explores the experiences of children and young people with a parent in prison, by interweaving research and interviews into the stories shared by characters Ruby, Jake and Grace in the dialogue. This includes Grace’s long journeys to visit her mum in a prison in Kent, which take “eight hours there and back” - the inspiration for the title of the play.

Directed by Emma Bramley, their stories are further explored through Adele Inglis’ exceptional choreography and Noel Jones’ projection mapping / visual projections. Cal Connor (Jake), Olivia Lamb (Ruby) and Rio Star (Grace) are talented performers and their perfectly timed movements to the music further communicated the emotions that their characters were feeling to the audience. This included one scene, which saw Connor, Lamb and Star move and slide across the set to the sounds of the music, as voice overs shared the worries that their characters Ruby, Jake and Grace had when trying to sleep at night.

The use of the staging, including moving large foam blocks to make beds and playground equipment, seamlessly moved the narrative along, while the use of visual projections added further context to the stories of children and young people that were portrayed by Connor, Lamb and Star - both as their characters and their multi-rolling as family members, social workers, prison guards and teachers.

All Things Considered Theatre aim to create socially engaged theatre that encourages honest and pertinent conversations between people through intimate, participatory and immersive performances - and 8 Hours There and Back does just this, in this thought-provoking production.

8 Hours There and Back will tour venues across the UK until Tuesday 22 October 2024.

Photo credit: Brian Roberts

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