As if the controversial and ordinarily taboo subject of a meeting between a woman and the man who abused her when she was 12 and he was 40 was not enough for the audience to broach, the performance took place in the narrow aisle between our closely packed and facing seats. The lights were up and uncomfortably bright and the characters paced up and down to keep our attention on them.
There really was no escape and, while uncomfortable, this was a very clever device to reflect the years of torment Una has suffered, mentally imprisoned by never having come to terms with the confused and conflicting feelings she had for Ray. Indignation and anger abound, and an attempt to understand what she meant to him only masks a desperate attempt to believe that, after all, she really was different and not just one of a number of conquests Ray might have pursued.
The performances were superb. Both Una and Ray were utterly convincing. The script was bold enough to imagine a “real” meeting, potentially the only opportunity Una will ever have to find resolution. This was compelling to watch and, like all the best theatre, raised more questions than it answered.
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