Grief and the Lullaby

Grief and the Lullaby is a very moving and insightful work that slowly unfolds to make perfect sense.  All four actors embody complex individual characters with considerable skill.  The relationships portrayed are very believable; at times robust and at times delicate, perhaps even fragile.  There is an ebb and flow between them and numerous naturalistic shifts of status that feel particularly real and go a long way towards sustaining curiosity.

It is a work where, in the reviewing, telling the story would completely negate its charm and destroy the inherent suspense of the magic of the story clarifying and the integrity of what is being experienced as it is discerningly revealed bit by bit.  So the less said the better.

Set and lighting (Andrew Bailey and Lisa Mibus – respectively) work well towards exposition particularly with the use of a kind of light-box that is the interior of a house and perhaps symbolic of the intrinsic core of the narrative.  And Bailey has created a fabulous side drop of a tempestuous sky that heralds a wonderfully moody atmosphere.

I usually find that I am not a fan of writers directing their own work.  However in this instance Patrick McCarthy is very successful in preserving the appropriate distance from his own material to be able to maintain and uphold objectivity.  This could of course also be due to the caliber of his two dramaturges; Raymond Cortese – text and Mark Rogers – performance.

Exquisite Theatre.

Suzanne Sandow

Director: Patrick McCarthy

Dramaturg (text): Raimond Cortese

Creative Producer & Dramaturg (performance): Mark Rogers

Set Design: Andrew Bailey

Lighting Design: Lisa Mibus

Sound Design: Tommy Spender

Costume Design: Zoe Rouse

Performers:  Rebecca Bower, Dean Cartmel, Ryan Forbes and Ben Pfeiffer.

Images: Ryan Forbes & Dean Cartmel and Ben Pfeiffer, Ryan Forbes & Dean Cartmel. Photographer: Deryk McAlpin.