Review by Olivia Ruggiero
Foreverland is a new play by Emma Hemingford that looks at the moral ambiguity of living forever. Who decides who lives forever? Who gets to live forever? And should we live forever? Hemingford’s script navigates this really beautifully, representing both sides of the fight exceptionally well, showing the ebbs and flows of immortal life and the fluctuating nature of relationships throughout an “eternity”.
Emma McDonald is a bright and effervescent Alice at the start of the play. Youthful, if a little anxious, bubbly, hopefully and joyous – she is captivating from the beginning and drives the play forward with her character growth from lover to mother, to wife, to carer. Her journey is one handled with great empathy. McDonald is a standout in this role.
Christopher York by comparison is a little flat as Jay – he doesn’t quite capture the intense realism of his character and as a result, it’s hard to sympathise with the struggles of mental health and alcoholism his character portrays throughout the play. There are times his portrayal of this role comes across as a little arrogant and unlikeable which doesn’t help the audience to engage with his character. He lacks chemistry with Emma McDonald and only really seems to light up in his scenes with Emily Butler (as Young Annie). Butler is fantastic in her short scene and matches the energy of her adult colleagues.
Valerie Antwi as Dr Lane is witty and sharp. She provides many biting one-liners that give great comical relief to what can otherwise be a very intense script. She’s captivating and engaging. A joy to watch. Una Byrne plays an adult Annie and handles the penultimate scene, which is full of emotion and power, with grace and ease. She gives a really enjoyable and realistic performance – her chemistry with Emma McDonald is exceptional.
The lighting design for this show is simple and yet effective. The sound design is the same – the use of which helps mark the passage of time for the audience – they don’t overdo anything and there’s great restraint shown by the department to just do what is needed for this show to work – this also allows Hemingford’s script to sing. The direction by Frederick Wienand is fabulous and very clear. His blocking makes excellent use of the space. The only thing that doesn’t quite work in the show is the symbolism of the white curtain, which even at the end, when it opens to reveal a golden wall, doesn’t quite make sense as to its purpose or why it’s there. There’s no rhyme or reason that is obvious as to why it keeps drawing Annie in, or Alice decides to open it at the end. This concept probably needs a little more work for future iterations to help the audience navigate its purpose better.
There is some fabulous writing in this script and concept is utterly fascinating. The show itself feels a little slow at times and dense – it’s certainly not a light night out at the theatre. Foreverland surely has potential and future – it’s relevant and smart with a good cast and great production team.
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