Grief, family and unfolding home truths.Rating
Good
It is a Friday night at The Sun Inn and the regulars are on the karaoke. Except the regulars are not part of the cast, they are willing audience members who have scanned the QR code and made their way to the stage for their five minutes of fame. The audience are having a great time, singing along as if they were in a real pub.
Once the lights go down we meet Franky. Franky is back in her hometown after a year in London. She returns full of airs and graces, talking about how wonderful her new life is. From the flat she shares with her boyfriend, to the job that lets her work from home, everything she says paints a picture of perfection in the Big Smoke. But the people she has left behind in her unspecified hometown, somewhere outside Manchester, are having none of it. Her father claims Londoners make outlandish claims about the weather and her childhood best friend asks why she has come back if she loves London so much. Franky insists she is just visiting, but as a weekend turns into weeks, then a month, then longer, she is forced to confront the real reason she came back.
Heart Wall is a gentle drama about grief and loss, told through the perspectives of those who were there at the time and those who were not. Rowan Robinson plays the, quite frankly, unlikeable Franky. Her whining and meddling in her parents’ lives is irritating, the very epitome of main character energy. For much of the first half you find yourself wishing someone would tell her to zip it, but she becomes more likeable later on. Her comments about finding it hard to watch her parents age will ring true for many in their twenties and thirties, and these moments give the character more depth.
Deka Walmsley and Sophie Stanton play the parents, Dez and Linda. Their chemistry is sweet, with a tender weariness as they first try to hide their situation from Franky, then later face it head on. Aaron Anthony is pub landlord Valentine, the only person to set a calm boundary with an out-of-control Franky, and his steady presence works well throughout. Olivia Forrest is first introduced as comic relief, which could have been limiting, but under Kit Withington’s skillful pen she emerges as the most grounded person on stage. She is undeniably funny but also offers some much-needed reality testing for Franky about what life can be.
Despite a well-rounded story, the play is too long. The opening and closing sections are snappy, funny and heartfelt and, coupled with Hazel Low’s striking set design, create memorable bookends to a sweet story. The middle could do with tighter scenes and dialogue to keep up the pace.
Heart Wall has a bit of everything: community atmosphere, comedy and reflections on grief and ageing. It is an enjoyable night out and, if you are planning to attend, make sure to get there early to sign up for your turn on the stage.
Written by Kit Withington
Directed by Katie Greenall
Set & Costume design by Hazel Low
Sound design and composed by Mwen
Lighting design by Simisola Majekodunmi
Heart Wall runs at The Bush Theatre until 16th May.
