ScotsGay Magazine

****

This is a drama about domestic abuse. Kananu Kirimi as the wife, Chris, appears throughout. She has left her home at night, and finds herself in the houses of two successive men. Neither of these are strong people with any solutions. We are held by Chris’s hypnotic refrains about the ways her situation is seen on the outside, and the ease of “staying”. Benny Young as the husband is an almost immediate nightmare, using the language of relationship to normalise what is happening- an excellent performance. Kananu Kirimi brings real depth to Chris, who is both strong and vulnerable. I found myself wondering if the playwright was familiar with the work of Eugene O’Neill - the gradual unfolding of a life, till at the denouement the audience seems to have lived with a character and feels that much more, seems a characteristic of both writers. This is not an easy watch, but it is highly recommended.

Tony Challis

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