Meet Me at Dawn

Two women wash up on a beach after a boating accident – Robyn is confused, feels unwell; Helen is pumped full of adrenaline; both start to look for a way back home.

To say more of the story would detract from the experience, which begins as you take your seats peering into the semi-darkness of Meg Wilson’s set, beautifully lit by Mark Oakley, wrapped in an ocean soundscape from Sascha Budimski that knows when to create atmosphere and when to smash it.

The conversational style of writer Zinnie Harris could have been a disaster in the hands of lesser actors, yet both are superb in handling the way couples talk with each other, completed sentences unnecessary. Robyn’s uncertainties, anxieties, and her need to understand and explain are wonderfully performed by Wendy Bos; Helen’s confidence, frustration and anger is simmered beautifully by Sarah Bos. These are two women in love, whose idiosyncrasies are known, anticipated, and commented on by each other. As the audience, it’s impossible to be passive with each expression that spills out of these two actors: of soaring love and wrenching loss.

Director Nescha Jelk lets the dialogue unwrap the story, with light and sound changing the frame of reference when Robyn has a flashback – or flash-forward – but sensibly, she allows the emotional journey to be carried by Wendy and Sarah Bos: it’s a challenging and winding path, yet ultimately rewarding.

Mark Wickett

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