The clues are there in Michael Batten’s Remembrance Monday as Connor and Julius meet cute, argue, and re-run different facets of the same everyday scene.
Lights flicker, words take on extra significance, a mirror lies. Julius displays extreme anxiety about a night out. Something’s not right.
In this world premiere, directed by Alan Souza, a model gay marriage between painter and former dancer looks perfect, but as the drama progresses, it is clear one event has left it forever Monday.
Matthew Stathers (Connor) and Nick Hayes (Julius) are both terrific, but Hayes brings a graceful physicality (movement by Dianté Lodge) to moments of fear and confusion.
Stathers gives an intelligent reading of a man who wants to help. He might feel helpless, but not for the reasons you might think. As he watches his husband haltingly recall their wedding song, the ache of longing is very clear.
Technically, Remembrance Monday is very efficient and effective, even using some periods of total darkness. Jack Weir’s lighting is deeply atmospheric and works well with Sarah Weltman’s off-kilter sounds.
I’m trying to avoid spoilers, but I felt this play captured Julius’s deteriorating condition perfectly, asking a lot of the actors and the audience, but trusting us all to take the journey.
The performance space at Seven Dials Playhouse is a square fringed by a ribbon of lights, flanked on three sides by stage seating, and with the general seating head on.
Souza and his team have filled every corner with action, light, voices, ensuring a strong experience for all watching. The lighter scenes are funny, the nicknames sweet, the ending heartbreaking.
Remembrance Monday runs at Seven Dials Playhouse until 1 Jun 2024 and runs 80 minutes – tickets here.
****
Image credit: Danny Kaan