Review: This Little Earth, Arcola Theatre

We live in a world of uncertainty: fake news, conspiracy theories, lies, deceit and political manipulation surround us, with untruths disclosed day on day. Shortlisted for both The Women’s Prize for Playwriting and The Originals Playwriting Award, This Little Earth by Jessica Norman is a deceptively clever play that examines the journey of two ordinary people thrown together in difficult circumstances who decide to test their own beliefs by literally travelling to the edge of the world. It’s wonderfully woven with humour and dramatic dupery: I thought I was watching a perfectly ordinary drama for quite some time before I realised nothing was what it seemed…

Holly’s sister Sadie has just died when she meets Christopher. She’s interested in Antarctic exploration so when he admits to believing in a flat earth the idea of investigating the truth of the matter resonates and she persuades him to travel there with her. The two main characters are delightfully written – humorous, flawed and relatably human. Fanta Barrie gives an excellent performance as Holly, who handles all the emotions from fresh grief to hyper excitement to near certain death. She is balanced beautifully by Ross O’Donnellan, who is an absolute joy to watch; from his role as dorky but charming Christopher, to a twinkling influencer, to a – penguin?? The two work impressively together, demonstrating a human, shared need to connect and be supported, even though they’re quite different. It plays in perfectly to the articulation of a world where vulnerable people might be prone to accept the most bizarre beliefs and mistruths. 

The show is really funny, yet at the same time intriguingly unsettling, with a developing quirky and amusing surreality to everything – from a James Bond-style boat theft, to a bizarre encounter with penguins, to shifting uncertainty about everything and everyone. It mirrors the current political climate where, like these unlikely adventurers, we’re on a fragile snow bridge where any wrong move could send us crashing into a chasm of hopelessness.

Director Imy Wyatt Corner does a brilliant job in a small space, moving the actors snappily between diverse scenes at a solid pace – a big nod to Hamza Ali here for some tight movement work. Corner gently guides the audience through a sea of surprising revelations, so we are never sure what the real truth is, culminating in a wonderful, almost hallucinogenic conclusion that has the entire audience gaping in disbelief as we’re put in the picture. It’s brilliantly handled, so you just don’t see it coming.

The set design by Cat Fuller neatly indicates a frozen landscape, with almost an icy seesaw at the centre, where it’s impossible to be stable. It’s enhanced by Hugo Dodsworth’s shifting, evocative lighting moving us between time and location, with digital projections suggesting the vast internet of data where our confused minds reap conflicting information about beliefs and truths. Jamie Lu’s clever sound design gives superb depth to the Antarctic atmosphere, with reverb on voices in the ice cave a highly effective choice.

This Little Earth is an absolute gem of a play. In a world that is in turmoil, it offers us ice walls to contain all the queries and doubts we have running through our confused heads and depicts that confusion in its very form. It’s genuinely funny, yet raises important ideas about perspective and whose truth is the correct one. Moreover, it challenges the role of influencers and the media at a time when we’re often uncertain who is controlling the narrative or benefitting from it, and interrogates the human inclination towards assigning blame. Ultimately, it encourages us to question individual responsibility for our personal beliefs and actions.

You can read more about the play in our recent interview with Fanta Barrie.

Written by Jessica Norman
Directed by Imy Wyatt Corner
Produced by 3 hearts canvas & Izzy Carney
Set and costume design by Cat Fuller
Light and projection design by Hugo Dodsworth
Sound design by Jamie Lu
Movement direction by Hamza Ali

This Little Earth runs at the Arcola Theatre until Saturday 15 November.