Three hundred feet in the air, the Blavatsky’s live their lives with their heads firmly stuck in the clouds. Whilst Dada sees angels all around, Roland endlessly watches soaps and Ingrid gardens on the roof. Moira Buffini takes dysfunctionality to a whole new level with the Blavatsky’s who choose to shun the modern world and live their lives at the top of the tower block built by their tyrannical father architect and visionary, Hector. Although blind and bed ridden, he rules his odd little brood with an iron fist. Sanity enters in the form of an outsider, or one of "the crushed" as they refer to the rest of civilisation. But is letting light into the darkness always a good thing?
I have always been a great admirer of the work of playwright Moira Buffini, with their numerous layers and many levels. ‘Blavatsky’s Tower’ is an earlier, more scarcely produced piece that really does deserve more outings. Director Chris Loveless superbly captures a sense of anxiety and claustrophobia of the Blavatsky’s world as they live their isolated lives on top of a monstrous tower block designed by their tyrannical father. The intimacy of the Brockley Jack Theatre adds to this feeling, with the audience seated on three sides of a small but well utilised space. The cast are magnificent, with a special mention to Anthony Hoskyns as ‘Roland’, who really has encapsulated the nuances of a frustrated, if not misguided, eccentric. Annabel Bates as ‘Ingrid’ and Emily Bowker as ‘Audrey’ as the Blavatsky sisters are well observed and suitably restrained as is Oliver Hume as ‘Hector’ who genuinely emanates the absolute power he has over these siblings in the short, but memorable time he is on stage. Robert Wilson as ‘Dr Tim Dunn’, representing the outsider and witness to the proceedings, is the only ‘normal’ individual in this odd group, but even he has issues that many of us would question. Both Renell Shaw’s atmospheric and haunting music and Matt Hall’s sound design are beautifully realised and add to what is a quality production of outstanding drama. - Catherine Woods
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