Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
4 stars
The four walls of the cosy country kitchen which houses Tim Price's
elegaic little play is a deceptively domestic setting for a piece in
which worlds are ever so quietly rocked following the car crash death
of a teenager. As Gordon, April and their son Sid recount their
versions of the story via a series of devastatingly simple
criss-crossing monologues while they go about their daily chores, the
raging calm that slowly unravels reveals a sense of barely contained
frustration beneath the surface. April gets by with her concerts in the
city, Gordon through a solitary trawl through bars and B & Bs in search
of solace. Yet it's Sid, who survived the crash, who provides the
social glue between them lest they “stop pretending to be happy” as he
puts it at one point.
Set in “a village with attitude” that looks an awful lot like Ludlow,
the Shropshire town where the play's producers Pentabus reside, For
Once is a sad, funny and meticulously observed debut by Price. Revived
for this touring version in co-production with Sherman Cymru, Orla
O'Loughlin's production becomes a desperate little dance, where the
sleepy ordinariness of small town life is offset by the common or
garden tragedy beneath.
As the first opportunity for audiences to see O'Loughlin's work since
departing Pentabus to become artistic director of the Traverse, such an
assured calling card bodes well for the future. As the parents,
Geraldine Alexander and Patrick Driver present touching portraits of a
family all at sea. Jonathan Smith as Sid, meanwhile, makes for a
charmingly geeky survivor. When they finally come together, it's a
moment of heart-breaking power.
The Herald, April 6th 2012
ends
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