Review: FOREVERLAND, Southwark Playhouse

Would you undergo a procedure that would easily and painlessly grant you to live eternally? Writer Emma Hemingford theorises a future where the extension of life has become as normal as getting Botox. But, unlike plastic surgery, the practice raises ethical and social issues. The benefits span protracted career opportunities and more time to spend with your loved ones, but at what cost?

Directed by Frederick Wienand, Foreverland is a profound exploration of the moral price of biotechnological advancement. Science fiction marries family drama in Hemmingford’s very human speculation. Shortlisted for the 2021 edition of the Papatango Prize, the production comes at a point when theatre has largely abandoned sci-fi as a trend, so this delay pays off in terms of originality. In essence, the piece is an excellent episode of Black Mirror.

Emma McDonald and Christopher York deliver emotive, intense performances as the couple who can afford to pay for the treatment. We first meet them at their final appointment. McDonald’s Alice, a schoolteacher, is particularly striking. Flustered and stressed while the nurse (Valerie Antwi) makes sure they understand the consequences of the operation as well as the long-term implications of it, she offers a masterful performance. Vulnerable yet open, McDonald’s micro-expressions lend themselves to the intimacy of the space, allowing her to be detailed in the most minute gestures.

Where Alice is reticent to air her concerns, York comes in with an authoritative temperament as her husband Jay. Level-headed almost to a fault, he gets annoyed at his wife and invalidates her feelings, then recollects himself and brings her back around. Wienand’s smooth vision engages properly once the pair start their new lifestyle. A quick series of mundane scenes from their travels ensues, tied together by the sound and lighting designs. Lily Woodford-Lewis (lights) and Jamie Lu (soundscape) work in synergy, incorporating strong hues and clicking sounds to imply a steady movement on the timeline. There are some overlong moments that leave the stage empty while the scene resets, but it’s a negligible flaw in the grand scheme of things.

Hemmingford was ahead of the game with Foreverland, whose significance has only increased since its conception. Wienand stages it at the perfect moment: it’s easy for us to tie it in with the Ozempic epidemic and Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, which hit cinemas only a few weeks ago. The play reframes privilege, presenting a universe where the wealthy can live forever, but the average citizen is destined to die amidst new pandemics and more civil unrest. Once Alice and Jay’s days of bliss end, they resume their old ways. She grows increasingly agoraphobic, and he falls into a depressive slump. The birth of their daughter restores their joy for life, but comes with a list of anxieties that only expands when she becomes an adult.

Their initial freedom becomes prosaic; they stop travelling and go back to a state of humdrum indifference. At the same time, outside their drawn curtains, the wealth divide has grown larger, with the regressive policies of a conservative government lasting longer due to the new lifespans of the rich. Hemmingford’s world-building is stable and well-defined, begging to be further probed.

The piece welcomes the personal investigation of an abundance of thought-provoking ramifications, making Foreverland intriguing and exciting, a treat for those who enjoy social analysis. We can go even further and ask ourselves, is death what makes life worth living?

Foreverland runs at Southwark Playhouse until 19 October.

Photo credit: Charlie Lyne

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