Review: Doomsday Baby, Theatro Technis

It’s Adam’s 18^th birthday but unfortunately he’s in a bunker with his mum Eve. Which isn’t ideal. She’s tried hard but food and resources are scarce. There’s an old Dansette in the corner which they play vinyl on; a mixture of feel good tunes mingle alongside the occasional classical piece. No song is heard in its entirety though, as Eve frequently reacts in anger, pulling the records off the player to caress or place them carefully back in their sleeves. Each time contrition follows swiftly although on one occasion, after Adam has gone back to sleep, Eve demonstrates her sexual longing for her husband to one of these records.

The records themselves are a precious memory left of Joe, Eve’s husband and Adam’s dad. He is presumed dead, and definitely nowhere to be seen. Adam has nightmares and anxiety – he often dreams of his father.

From the very beginning their relationship feels odd. Eve is overprotective, but also inappropriate with Adam: caressing and kissing him in a sexual manner. She is keen for dress up, and finds a sequinned dress from her younger years that she parades in. She wants them to play Romeo and Juliet together, and kiss, as the play demands. It’s easy, initially, to put it down to the constrained circumstances they find themselves in: isolated, underground, sheltering from ”the storms” with no end in sight. But as the play continues, their relationship takes a very disturbing turn.

The set is basic: a table and a couple of chairs, with a mattress on a floor with an uncovered duvet and boxes of old clothes. It does the job even if not particularly imaginative. Off stage areas are used to represent a shower room or a kitchen. What is clear is that this is very rudimentary living accommodation, aplace that they ran to in a hurry. Their food supplies are basic and running low, even though there is no plan to leave.

Joshua Horsfall plays Adam well: he is fragile and vulnerable, yet still wishes to please his mother, naturally. He dreams of a world lost, where he was able to be outside, smell the trees, go fishing with his father. Horsfall can move through the most nuanced of emotions beautifully, carefully articulating his pain to the audience with the lightest of touches. Jodyanne Fletcher is less accomplished and at times feels awkward. But her character is deeply flawed so I wonder if this awkwardness is in fact a realistic portrayal of a disturbed person.

The music is interesting: clearly a key part of the production, each tune has been diligently chosen to represent the time that Eve and Joe got together. As the audience gather before the play starts we hear Uptown Girl by Billy Joel followed swiftly by Boogie Nights. The Dansette itself, and choice of vinyl as a medium, place it in time but I feel there is an opportunity to spend longer on these choices, and give them more prominence. I appreciate the sound quality is reflective of the nature of the bunker, but even so, it’s a bit of an opportunity lost.

The intelligence in this play lies in its writing. As the end draws near, a series of revelations are made, without a clear conclusion. They are shocking and nuanced and the audience leaves trying to work out what has actually happened. Which I loved – a piece that you will continue to muse on long after you’ve left the venue.

Written by: Jacqueline Tooley
Directed by: Jez Davess-Humphrey
Produced by: Mrin Sekhsaria Somani

Read more about Doomsday Baby in our recent interview here.

Doomsday Baby plays at Theatro Technis until Friday 8 August.