Escaped Alone – Project Arts Centre – Review

Escaped Alone by Caryl Churchill

Hatch Theatre Company and Everyman Theatre in association with Once Off Productions

Dates: 19 – 28 June
Running Time: 45 mins approx. (no interval)

In this production, we meet three older women, Sally, Vi and Lena, sitting and chatting in Sally’s back garden. The three are old friends and know each other’s intimate secrets. When they invite Mrs Jarrett (Anna Healy) into the garden, it changes their usual dynamic, as they start to reveal aspects of their lives.

Caryl Churchill was born in London in 1938. She is the daughter of Jan Brown, a fashion model and actress and Robert Churchill, a political cartoonist. She is a long-established playwright and has written over 40 plays. Escaped Alone was written in 2016 and first premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square, London.

The premise is straightforward, with the four women engaging in a free-wheeling conversation about their lives and thoughts on the modern world. This conversation is broken up with several monologues, as we gain insight into what is going on in the minds of each individual. We see a dark and dangerous view of the future, with societal change and climate breakdown, whereas another is dominated by her fear of housecats! They are humorous and horrific in equal measure.

The set design by Tom Piper gives us a simple garden with grass, chairs and a tree. An ovoid frame at the back of the set allows the audience to see the sky and a large (and occasionally wobbly) sun hanging over the garden.

The simplicity of the piece is quite unusual. We meet four characters and hear a brief potted history of their lives, or at least the facts they choose to reveal. Some are mundane, whereas others are dramatic. There is also one very unexpected and well-rehearsed sequence, as the group perform Da Doo Ron Ron with perfectly timed hand clapping! It’s a piece where you can sit back and enjoy the talents of the four older actors on stage, and eavesdrop on their world.

Directed by Annabelle Comyn
Set & Costume Design by Tom Piper
Lighting Design by SJ Sheils
Music and Sound by Philip Stewart

CAST
Sorcha Cusack / Anna Healy / Ruth McCabe / Deirdre Monaghan