Bea (Anna Ticehurst) lives in an untidy flat, where she meditates, drinks and listens to music. In Imitations, which is Ticehurst’s debut play, mental health, loneliness and grief are the main themes.
When her childhood best friend, Frank (Gregor Roach) shows up, they reconnect over old memories, shared jokes, and even a game of Twister. It’s a complicated yet delicate play exploring how we find ourselves needing to face up to reality.
Fin Atkin’s set is rich with posters, clutter, and the general carelessness of daily living. It’s very close to the audience – the front row is almost on the stage itself – which gives the play an additional intimacy.
Director Lilly Butcher captures the shifting mood without giving anything away, allowing the friendship between Bea and Frank to rekindle quietly and realistically. Physical distance reduces, detritus becomes calm.
In recognising and developing themes relating to depression and suicide, Imitations shows considerable emotional engagement with the difficult topics. It is sensitive and surefooted when required, but also funny, friendly and fiery.
In watching Bea recount the end of a relationship, and the distance from her family created by being queer, you really feel for her – then she switches to her sarcastic armour in a blink.
For Frank, there are things left unsaid and a bedroom upstairs where memories linger. The support system that threads the two together feels unbreakable yet inevitably vulnerable.
The choices of recorded music we hear, too, including The Who’s “My Generation” and Johnny Cash’s “I Walk The Line”, support the emotional progress of the play.
Imitations runs just 50 minutes, and not a moment is wasted. It is clearly about friendship, love and loss while offering a window into how young people can struggle with the world.
Ticehurst and her co-producer Zara Clarke have co-founded Pinch Me Productions, and this is their first project, returning to London after a Spring run at the Hen & Chickens.
I’m giving this 4 stars.
Imitations is at Riverside Studios in the River Room until 3 Oct.
Photo credits: Laura Braithwaite