The River

Much like the river itself after dark, Butterworth’s newest play is deep, mysterious and mesmerising. The restlessness of peripatetic flow is explored through those things we see on the surface, often minutiae and deceptive – the movement of the furniture, the gutting of a fish – but submerged at unfathomable depths there is menace, and secrets, and possibly even danger. And, like the river, the playwright only hints at how deep that menace lies.

The premise in this character driven piece is simple; a man brings his new love to his cabin by the river, to fly fish for Sea Trout on the one moonless night of the year. She is coquettish, teasing; they are new lovers eager to impress. But something is lurking, threatening to break the surface, to destroy the fly and disappear again into the dark waters.

When the woman goes missing the man frantically calls the police, only to discover that she is safe at home; except that when she appears … it’s an entirely different woman, and that is just the first anomaly sent to confuse and intrigue the audience. Butterworth flips the old adage on its head and offers in exchange “What you get is NOT what you see.” It’s up to us to find the truth amongst the lies.

John Kachoyan is a director of great sensitivity and sensibility. He proved that last year with his direction of the haunting “Elegy”. He is the perfect connection to Butterworth’s play. He and designer Chloe Greaves have brilliantly conceived an entirely new performing set up for Red Stitch, whose theatre is tiny, without much room to manoeuvre. The “stage” is a small strip dividing the room – seating is quite steep on either side. In effect, the audience becomes the banks of the river, always in danger of collapsing into the water. It’s the staging itself which gives the sense of menace before our actors have even appeared, and it’s enhanced by Christopher De Groot’s marvellous but subtle sound-scape, and Clare Springett’s wonderfully atmospheric lighting. But, as it should be, it is the performances that make the biggest impact.

Dion Mills, always charismatic, intriguing, and deeply connected to character, plays the paradoxical man.  Like Butterworth’s writing, Mills gives us extremes of Yin and Yang…he is gentle – controlling, artistic - moody, open and secretive. It’s a role played by the great Dominic West in London, yet it might have been written for Mills. Watching his eloquent hands give their own performance, one is easily convinced that those hands could be responsible for a delicate drawing, or throttling a woman to death. The former we see as a fact, the latter may exist in the murky depths, a bottom feeder. And when he guts and chops the head off a fish without feeling or distaste, we believe him capable of anything.

There are times when Butterworth’s voice comes through in quasi literary-speak that doesn’t quite gel with the character, but Mills still makes the most pretentious of lines work.

Ngaire Dawn Fair has never been better. She is totally immersed in the character of the woman, even when the woman herself is acting, role playing for the man’s benefit. There could have been more sexual chemistry between the two, but even that may not have been the intent – after all, the very basis for the relationship is lying, so it’s possible the attraction is a lie too.

Christina O’Neill (the other woman) is always a delight to watch, and she carefully balances the similarities to the first woman with an individuality that sets her apart… a sameness that is totally different but equally impressive. And just when we think we have successfully put the pieces together, along comes graduate ensemble member Eva Seymour, in a miniscule yet pivotal role, to present us with yet other options.

The River isn’t perfect (what play is?), and it asks a lot from the audience, an engagement of mind and emotions. Even then it offers no answers, merely creates more questions. Some will love the challenge, some will hate that the truth eludes them, and each of us has our own truth anyway. But good theatre shouldn’t be too easy – and Red Stitch has a commitment to good theatre.

Coral Drouyn

Photographer: Jodie Hutchinson.