Review: You, I Am A Child, Courtyard Theatre

Camden Fringe

Review: You, I Am A Child, Courtyard Theatre

Summary

Rating

80

Excellent

A simple plot of a missing person quickly turns into something much deeper as we are left to consider whether we really want the world to know everything there is to know about us.

What happens if we just want to disappear in a digital age, when it’s near on impossible not to have your entire life laid bare for all to witness with a quick online search? And what about dating? When we’ve already given up so much information online before we even meet, what’s left to ask each other?

That – at least in my mind – is the basis for Dominic Conneely Hughes’ intriguingly named You, I Am A Child. I say ‘in my mind’ because there is so much to unpick from this stylish thriller that I suspect if you ask ten different people, you’d likely get at least five different interpretations. And who’s to say all five won’t be correct in their own way?

The plot itself is deceptively simple, at least on the surface. Hannah and Oliver have just had a first date, after “unmatching” online, but later the same night Oliver makes a frantic and distressed phone call to Hannah. Worried for his wellbeing, she reports it to the police, who slowly start to believe her claim that something has happened to him. Of course, being the last person to see him, Hannah quickly becomes a suspect.

This simple plot proves to be much deeper than it first appears though. We slowly see more of their date night, and Hannah’s insistence that they avoid the obvious and boring conversations of jobs, family, education. After all, we can find all this out online. Instead, they imagine alternative personas, alternative existences that they might want if they could start all over again. It all leads to feelings of wanting to be someone else, somewhere else. Then, interspersed with the date night, we return to the present, and the police station, as they pick slowly at Hannah’s story that now seems full of holes.  

Ruth Piggott and Drew Gregg excel in their roles as Hannah and Oliver. Gregg also takes on a multitude of supporting characters who Hannah meets, from police officers to Oliver’s mother. He shows a great versatility in bringing a uniqueness to each, especially the rather off-hand mother, although I would question the need to make his Police Support Officer so comical. It removes an element of realism from proceedings. As amusing as much of the audience find the character it feels unnecessary to create such a parody that takes us out of the moment multiple times.

Director Tara Choudhary does a great job in keeping the whole thing flowing and never too static, which, given there are really only two locations and both involve a lot of sitting down, is quite impressive. We switch over and over again from flashbacks to their date, the pair sitting side by side on the table (which along with two chairs comprise the only staging present), to the interview room at the police station, with both parties sitting at either end of the same table. There’s also good use of sound to help build the tension, as well as place us nicely in a busy pub, although lighting cues seemed to be missed too often, with lights suddenly changing mid-scene at times.

Hughes has written a piece of theatre that leaves more questions than answers as we reach the finale. But that is a compliment, not a complaint. The intrigue generated and the nods to modern living and dating that You, I Am A Child produces prove that a good thriller doesn’t have to answer every question to leave you satisfied. Instead it gives you plenty to consider in making your own interpretation of what it all really meant.

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Written by: Dominic Conneely Hughes
Directed by: Tara Choudhary
Produced by: Fool House
Lighting Design, Tech & Stage Managed by: Charlie Raca
Sound Design by: Oscar Maguire

You, I Am A Child has completed its run at Camden Fringe.

You can read more about this show in our recent interview with writer and director here.