Review: Whole, Camden’s People Theatre

Whole opens with a pre-set that knocks us off centre. Performer and writer, Emma Spearing, is sat, wearing a very large cat’s head. This is an odd image to walk in on and one that unsettles us, shifting us into a new state. A state that prepares us for a dose of other worldliness, found very much in the afterlife.

The structure of Whole is unique. Yes, it’s a one woman show as Spearing is the only professional performer on stage, but in reality, it’s a two hander. This is the story of growing up with a twin, sharing a life as a twin and then losing that twin to sickness. How might a person tell the story of two with only one? After all, a ‘whole’ is made up of two halves. Here the use of audience participation comes into play and is used remarkably well. A stranger becomes her friend, sibling and set designer. It’s a device that gives the show a feeling of looking in on an intimate therapy session: fascinating, pure and heartbreaking.

It is the raw authenticity of this show that gives it its strength. We see the scene changes and the prompted transitions. It requires bravery to be so transparent on stage, not just from Spearing as she shares her intimate story, but from whoever joins her up there. The night I watched the show, this participant was generous, funny and aided the show’s momentum. But I do wonder, had they been reluctant or shell shocked in front of an audience, what would this have meant for the play’s structure? However, that quality of the unknown is also a hook. It’s a presentation of two humans finding a shared understanding and working through it together. I suppose, much like sisters who have grown alongside each other.

Spearing guides her onstage sister and the audience with confidence and care. We felt held by her and her soothing delivery bent with the downs and humour of her story, carrying us to the end. The show has momentum and it takes true skill to play the emotional arc whilst being a guide to someone who doesn’t know the set dynamic shifts.

I did, however, want some of the moments to ring out for longer. The image of Spearing washing the foot of her onstage sister was powerful and I wanted more of that, or perhaps, when we eventually learn the story of the large cat’s head. The latter was a full circle moment for the audience and I would have liked to have that breathe for longer. I suppose though, wanting to breathe might have been a priority for the wearer also and a reason why it is the length that it is!

However, other moments are sat with and the stage is used widely, creating surprising shifts and powerful images. A crumpled sheet hanging, which at first glance simply looks like a quick backdrop, is revealed to be the portal into another world. A fitting place to lay a sister, new and old, to rest.

This is a well accomplished piece of theatre and one that will stay with you for a long time after.

Written by: Emma Spearing
Directed by: Kirsty Housley
Produced by: Zoe Gibbons

Whole has completed its run at Camden People’s Theatre, as part of a tour across the east of England and London until the 25 April 2025.