Visitors (Bush Theatre)

"We’re not our lives either, we’re just in them". This pearl of wisdom offered by elderly dementia sufferer Edie is one of many philosophical meditations in director Alice Hamilton‘s Visitors, opening at the Bush Theatre following a successful run at the Arcola and a tour.

Edie (Linda Bassett) and her husband Arthur (Robin Soans) trade these thoughts, along with memories of their lives, as they prepare to let their son Stephen (Simon Muller) sell the family house.

When graduate and drifter Kate (Eleanor Wyld) enters their lives as a carer, the house becomes a space for each character to come to terms with their mortality and the seemingly futile nature of life. It is an upsetting and affecting theme, but it is balanced excellently by well-delivered humour and warmth that reminds us of life’s vitality.

Stephen and Kate confront their listless lives through the elderly couple, who themselves are caught between their aging bodies and a relationship that is still fresh and youthful. Bassett and Soans’ chemistry in these moments – remembering past holidays, helping each other shuffle to their favourite armchairs, or tenderly embracing – demonstrates a remarkable chemistry. Set in the cosy farm living room, you are transported away from the metropolitan to a far more contemplative setting. It wants only for the waft of a peat fire.

Muller and Wyld are excellent support for Soans and Bassett, the heartbeat of the play. The older couple are more interesting than their youthful companions and this alone asserts the value of stories centred on our more venerable demographics. Hamilton’s direction and Barney Norris‘ sparkling script delivered so convincingly manage to maintain heartfelt sincerity while offering honest insights into life, memory and age.

As the farm is shut up for the final time and Kate begins to dread her next step in life, Arthur advises her to strike a balance between her desires. This balance is exactly what Visitors achieves: it avoids over-sentimentality while still being heartfelt, creates sympathetic characters yet imbues them with specificity and touches a universal sadness at the core of human experience, tempered by warm humour and vibrant love.