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A journey in and out of time, with black holes and bear traps.Summary
Rating
Good
Keaton Jackson’s Bear Traps starts with brothers Jack (Izzie Harding-Perrott) and Hal (Luke Sumner) driving along a road together – and not together. The set sees two stools separated by a line of gravel, indicating a central barrier that speaks to their relationship as much as the road. They share nostalgic stories of a brotherhood in a small town with limitations; one that Jack ultimately runs away from, leaving his brother to handle life alone. The play presents ideas of family, art, longing for a better or different life, and how relationships can hold you back.
The initial staging is a little confusing, with a mixture of American and UK signage, and the subsequent performance too is a mixture, flitting between time periods and locations across three parts. In the second of these we’re in an art gallery, where Graeme (Tim Harcourt) holds a meeting with curator Katherine (Joni Kamen) and intern (Safeena Ladha) about an exhibition they are organising. We learn the paintings are by Hal, given to Katherine who has historically had a relationship with the family – particularly Jack. In the third, Jack and Hal sit together discussing their relationship, past and present.
There are some enjoyable performances, particularly from Harcourt as Graeme, with whom the energy of the story lifts, before sinking with him into despondency. Sumner plays a determinedly taciturn Hal, meaning the moments where emotion breaks from him have real impact.
Keaton’s script seems to want to put us in an ambiguous space. It talks of black holes, where perspective can be changed in an instant, situations altering and different views arising, and the audience have to work to adjust to what’s not always immediately obvious. It takes a moment to realise Katherine and Jack have had a relationship, and as with Hal he’s left her behind. Hal talks about seeing absences, and in the final scene he seems to create an absence, blanking his brother while studiously building a house of cards, such that the possibility arises that Jack isn’t even present.
In fact, a lot of this show takes a moment. It’s repeatedly uncertain what is literal and what’s imagined or remembered. The very term ‘bear trap’ could be taken literally but is also a reference to a manipulative trading strategy, used to trick, so it’s unclear if it’s a phrase from their backwater US-town culture, or a clever subtext.
This approach – making things feel a little weird – isn’t really complemented by the staging, which is quite prosaic, just some tables, chairs and dustsheets, so although we’re asked to embrace a space of liminal understanding the visuals are firmly on the ground. The lighting choices could perhaps do more to underscore the moments of shifting perspectives, temporal uncertainty and insecurity. On the night this was rather questionable, with the actors sometimes edging into darkness, at other times inexplicably lit red, and it was never entirely clear whether this was deliberate or not.
The soundtrack is great fun, creating nostalgia for the time periods reflected, including some Bob Dylan and Don McLean. There are also amusing one-liners and light humour scattered throughout that give texture, although Jack’s final speech is overly wordy (so you could maybe understand why Hal is blanking him…).
There’s pertinent thinking here about family relationships and it’s an interesting approach to couch the characters in ambiguity, but this does leave things feeling rather insubstantial come the end. Some work on defining the production beyond the script could really help lift the show and guide the gazing audience through the black holes, to come out in a place different to where they first looked in.
Writer & Produced by: Keaton Jackson
Directed by: Poppy Sutch
Lighting design by: Toby Ison
Bear Traps plays at the Golden Goose theatre until Saturday 9 November. Further information and booking details can be found here.
