The quiet apocalypse: Linda Bassett (Mrs Jarrett), Deborah Findlay (Sally), Kika Markham (Lena) & June Watson (Vi). Photo credit: Johan Persson
Theatre: Royal Court
Play: Escaped Alone
Playwright: Caryl Churchill
Director: James Macdonald
Review by Joy Francis
Caryl Churchill has rock star status in theatre, and among actors. Not only does her latest play Escaped Alone officially launch the 60th anniversary of the Royal Court Theatre, but it attracts a loyal – and starry – following. At a glance I spot Nikki Amuka-Bird, Stephen Rea and, unless it’s a convincing lookalike, Stephen Daldry.
On the face of it, the heady buzz around Escaped Alone could seem misplaced. A story of three older female friends and a neighbour, chewing the fat over tea in a suburban garden on a summer’s day, seems underwhelming. The fact that it’s all done and dusted in 50 minutes could inspire scepticism. But it’s Caryl Churchill we are talking about; a sharp-thinking political being where nothing she writes is what it seems.
This play is no exception. Mrs Jarrett (the incomparable Linda Bassett) hears voices from her neighbour’s garden on her way back from shopping. Intrigued, she eavesdrops before being invited in to join Sally (Deborah Findlay), Lena (Kika Markham) and Vi (the very funny June Watson).
Soaking up the sun’s rays, they engage in a game of verbal tennis, steeped in nostalgia, mundanity, repetition and the absurd: the intricacies of DIY, breaking down particles, their respective professions and local gossip.
The natural ebb and flow of conversation is mirrored, but with an added layer of poetic, lyrical, acapella-style delivery. When one person ends, another takes the last word or topic and runs with it, while weaving a narrative tapestry which tantalises the ears. Fellow playwright debbie tucker green would feel at home in the intimate world Churchill creates
But underneath the laughter, pauses and camaraderie are undercurrents of dissatisfaction, fear and anger, each vying for attention. They gradually seep through, in revelation after revelation, most as internal dialogue, covering a murder, depression, a crippling phobia and raw rage.
Intermittently, throughout the play (like a macabre and satirical stand up comic) Mrs Jarrett, presents an apocalyptic vision of death, destruction and deformity. Shrouded by a double layered black screen, trimmed with flickering orange coiled-wire lighting, she informs us of an alternative universe, a world eating itself – literally – with nature fighting back.
A depraved place where 80 per cent of food is diverted to TV programmes; where commuters watch, rather than eat, their breakfast en route to work; where the obese cut slices off their bodies to sell, and where there are fires and floods of biblical proportions. The visceral crunch of her words create unpleasant images in the mind, yet elicit reluctant but hearty laughter.
Churchill has something powerful and edgy to say about ageing in the 21st century. Apart from supplying cracking dialogue for older women actors, she also dares you to ever take any woman over 55 for granted again. Here are women who play many roles: mother, grandmother, wife and employees, yet who they really are remains unknown.
Each cast member excels. There is a wonderful moment when they break into a classic song and sing with such natural abandon you feel like you are intruding. Despite being an ensemble piece, you are left with a sense of each woman’s acute pain.
Escaped Alone is a blistering return to form by Churchill. A contained tour de force, it commands and demands your attention and is delivered with bravado, charm and very little flab.
Churchill’s words are an actor’s dream so director James Macdonald has to be praised for drawing out such fantastically realistic and engaging performances from the accomplished cast.
Never judge a book by its cover and go see this production, whatever your age.
Escaped Alone is at the Royal Court until 12 March 2016.