23.5 Hours review: A vivid take on a sensitive topic
Katherine Farmer's production of the Carey Crim play lapses occasionally into melodrama, but is ultimately saved by vivid performances
Carey Crim’s play explores the effect on a mother and her son following her husband’s imprisonment.
Tom (David Sturzaker) is a popular if unconventional drama teacher in a small New Jersey town and when he is accused of inappropriate sexual contact his wife Leigh (Lisa Dwan) and son Nicholas (Jem Matthews) suffer the consequences.
Although he protests his innocence, Tom’s attitude remains wilfully insensitive and unrepentant on his release, exacerbating the 30-minute chink of doubt that Leigh experiences every day.
The ambivalence extends to their best friends, supportive Bruce (Jonathan Hyati) and unconvinced wife Jayne (Allyson Ava-Brown).
Played on a generic apartment set decorated with posters that is one step up from a student flat, Katherine Farmer’s production lapses occasionally into melodrama.
But thanks to a set of vivid performances - particularly from Dwan and Matthews - it eventually focuses on the uncertainty resulting from damaged trust and the incipient horror of never truly knowing the person with whom you are most intimate.
At the Park Theatre until October 5
Tickets: 020 7870 6876
