The Fantastical Journey of Not Being With You
Life is an adventure, especially when
we meet someone with whom our lives become more exciting and playful,
but also more difficult. This beautifully written play by
writer/director Justen Bennett stars Max Wilson as character A
and Ryan Wichert as character B, a pair who take on the stage and
for 80 minutes take the audience on a captivating ride through their
relationship.
With a childlike openness the two
actors switch from brilliant, quick-paced clownesque sketches to
intimate moments, which immediately draw the audience in and hold
their attention throughout.
A and B meet, start a relationship and
play. They hurt each other and find themselves in power struggles,
which bring them together and tear them apart. Their only props are
two small suitcases packed with an array of simple, surprising
objects with which they demonstrate a huge playfulness. Light and
darkness (by lighting designer Karl Oskar Sordal) also play a big
part in the show, with one particular game leaving the audience
excited by the darkness.
Accurate choreography and a
perfect physicality (movement director David Ralfe trained at the
Jacques Lecoq theatre school in Paris) show a great understanding of
comic and emotional timing. No matter how small a movement is, the
focus is always clear and the story moves on moment by moment. Some
of the build-ups could be a little bit tighter but there is never an
uninteresting moment.
Wilson and Wichert are an adorable duo
who manage to portray silliness without being flat and romance
without playing the stereotypical gay couple. Both parts could be
played by either men or women and the play’s gender-neutrality adds
great scope to the show. Even though written and played in a
heightened, comical form, each sentence could, and probably has been,
said by every one who have ever been in a relationship or close
friendship.
It is a play about control and
manipulation, about saying what one feels and how the other reacts,
about connecting and disconnecting in a playful way but with
profundity. The chemistry between the two players is excellent and
they fascinate and move the audience.
It ends beautifully – touching and
sad, yet still full of humour. It leaves a lump in the throat and a
longing to go on that journey with someone by your side.
