The Undying, by Rea Dennhardt Patel, presented by Fridge Factory, Soho Theatre | 09 to 10 February ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review by Indigo Cleverley

Photo credit: Tobi Ejrele

The Undying

by Rea Dennhardt Patel

presented by Fridge Factory, Soho Theatre | 09 to 10 February

⭐⭐⭐⭐Review by Indigo Cleverley

“A thought-provoking performance on the importance of time, change and memories and how they shape us.”

When the opportunity to reduce your age with a pill called ‘TwiceLife’ emerges, an elderly couple contemplate taking it, while Amba longs to experience and utilise the feminist freedoms of the modern day, her husband Prav is less eager and appears skeptical. When Amba takes the pill, Prav remains uncertain before eventually caving, catalysing a chain reaction of events.

With this concept of de-aging, there is massive potential for creating a captivating performance which is maximised wonderfully through Rea Dennhardt Patel’s engaging writing which fuses together comedy and emotional intensity perfectly and explores contemporary social issues meaningfully. When Amba takes the pill before her husband Prav, she thrives in optimising opportunities in gaining an education, working out and getting a job whilst Prav seems uncomfortable with this progression from traditional gender expectations which he seems very set on. Through these conflicting opinions, Dennhardt Patel poses important questions on memory, identity and change. If we had the choice, what would we choose to remember and what would we choose to forget? How are we shaped by our experiences whether they are negative or positive? This metaphysical element of the play adds depth to the premise of the play but also the characters; as we delve further back into the character’s life stages, we uncover the roots of their behaviours and their desires.

Both performers brilliantly convey the characters growth and evolution through the different life stages - altering physicality, movements, gestures and voice authentically to represent the correct ages. From slow, careful geriatric movements to spritely jumping and dancing around the space, the transformations are evident with witty remarks on cliches of age groups accommodating this. Vaishnavi Survaprakash’s portrayal of Amba is wholehearted and raw, the layered portrayal of Amba as a grieving mother, an ambitious woman and a devoted wife is delicately constructed. Akaash Dev Shemar does a fantastic job as Prav as we witness his confusion and discomfort, contrasting his wife’s enthusiasm. Together, both performers work in perfect harmony, bouncing off each other and depicting the couple’s journey as their ages change.

The play uses live music as sound effects to correspond with rising tension and the moment of de-aging, drawing the audience in to the action, creating an eerie, uneasy atmosphere. This is heightened by the changes in lighting after the pill is taken, changing from neutral, naturalistic colours to a deeper hue for the moment of transformation, allowing the audience to witness the paranormal change. Changes in costume also assist the change, with layers being peeled back as the age regresses, a visualisation of the years being shaven down. Stark contrast in costumes represent the age ranges - bright green pyjamas are very different to neutral, loose fitted jumpers of the elderly. Sammy Dowson’s living room set design resides in front of a collection of frames representing past memories and key life events which are slowly deleted to signify the erasure of important memories as a result of the de-aging transition.

The Undying is a gripping, layered new play with intricate character evolution and fascinating insights on contemporary life - a wonderfully constructed production but also an important one. A thought-provoking performance on the importance of time, change and memories and how they shape us and our relationships.

Cast

Vaishnavi Survaprakash - Amba

Akaash Dev Shemar - Prav

Creatives

Rea Dennhardt Patel - Writer

Imy Wyatt Corner - Director

Sky Carver - Producer

Ansuman Biswas - Music

Rajiv Pattni - Lighting and AV

Sammy Dowson - Set and Costume Consultant

Fridge Factory - Production Company