Markings (London & tour)

Morecambe Bay was brought to the media’s attention a month or so ago with the tragic deaths of several immigrant workers. Despite being set in the same place Markings does not concern the same subject but instead explores the relationships within a dysfunctional family over three generations.

In this respect it has overtones of Charlotte Jones‘ In Flame while the nature of the play’s different time frames – in this case modern day and the 1940s – overlapping in the same physical space reminded me of English Touring Theatre’s recent Honeymoon Suite at the Royal Court. Unfortunately director Tamara Harvey does not capitalise on the set up. The different times never interact and are never aware of one another so it simply seems an inconvenience that they are in the same domain when such circumstances could have offered special moments and opportunities to open up the play.

By Dominic Francis, it opens with the reunion of Annie and her grown up son Edward who are meeting for the first time after his father’s death. Then we are transported to the 1940s, where a newly married Beattie and Cecil – Annie’s parents – try to settle in to their new digs in Ireland, where they have had to relocate for his job in the army. But it’s Beattie who soldiers on in difficult circumstances while her husband remains dissatisfied with his lot.

The problem at the heart of this play is that very little happens. The characters only ever speak in the past or future tense, reminiscing or dreaming. They never listen to one another or connect in any meaningful way. So the ‘plot’ is in the audience’s struggle to understand what the relationship between these people is. Once you work that out the play ends.

Janet Bird‘s set works perfectly to evoke both a living area and the bay with uneven rocks formed by dirty lino and a back sheet onto which sky is projected that also has the effect of a sail.

There are a few touching moments when Francis’ musings leap into technicolor images for the audience or voice a something really thought provoking, unfortunately though these are too few and far between to make this a compelling piece of theatre.

– Hannah Kennedy (reviewed at Southwark Playhouse)