SILENT ENGINE. To 28th September

SILENT ENGINE
by Julian Garner
Pentabus Theatre Company

Arcola Theatre to 28th September thentour
Mon - Sat 7.30 pm
Matinee Sat 14th September 3pm

1h 10 mins. No interval.

TICKETS 020 7503 1646
Review Danny Braverman 10th September

The Arcola Theatre continues its adventurous and high quality programming with this excellently crafted two-hander.
Designer Kate Bunce's setting is simple and effective. A large semi-abstract structure represents the remains of Hallsands, a fishing village swept away by the sea. A pile of driftwood and a rope are the only other objects on the set. Two characters - Anna and Bill - lurch painfully through their fractured relationship. This is a pressure-cooker play, where the tension is compelling and the explosions captivating.

Writer Julian Garner and director Theresa Heskins have created a play where detail, delicate symbolism and acute dialogue tell a story of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. The catalyst is the death of the couple's baby and, through two contrasting acts in the same location, we are drawn into a world where, despite desperate attempts to achieve empathy, the relationship is doomed.

The play's intensity would not be possible without the two riveting performances of Cathy Owen and Robin Pirongs. Owen effectively draws a characterisation of a woman hungry to assert her right to grieve - her anger and sorrow overwhelming. By contrast, Pirongs' convincingly depicts a man struggling to contain the devastating impact of a child's death.

Silent Engine avoids the trap of unremitting bleakness and over-earnestness through the injection of shafts of wit and a glimpse of redemption, creating a powerful and highly watchable play.

The only element that remains obscure - what does the title mean?

Anna: Cathy Owen
Bill: Robin Pirongs

Director: Theresa Heskins
Designer: Kate Bunce
Lighting: Charles Balfour
Sound: Barney Philbrick

2002-09-12 10:29:15