The Stage

Bright Black

Published Monday 21 September 2009 at 10:55 by Thom Dibdin

Enthralling in its construction and compelling in its revelation of grief and the grieving process, in Bright Black the writing, directing and design team of Candice Edmunds and Jamie Harrison has found an admirable balance.

At its heart lies an intense and utterly convincing performance from Meline Danielewicz as Claire, a recently bereaved young woman whose partner has died suddenly of a brain haemorrhage. After his funeral, she returns to the flat they shared with her friend Fay (Jenny Hulse).

The set, like the flat, is utterly bare. A room-sized black box frame open at front and sides. The skeletal frames of a door, fireplace and window fold out of the floor when needed. Around it, crawling up and down the poles and whispering in from the outside, is Martin McCormick’s Cerberus - unseen by the two women.

As Claire pushes Fay away, it is her relationship with Cerberus, the beast of her imagination, which marks the passage of her grief. Her thoughts of suicide, survivor’s guilt and longing for her partner’s touch again culminate in his recreation as Cerberus appears on stage in his form.

Brilliant use of black art illusion ensure that he appears both in her imagination and to the audience. Seamless in technique, the illusion is introduced with great artistic understanding. Used first to allow Claire to bring household objects onto the stage, by the time of Cerberus’ manifestation, it has become part of the play’s vernacular.

A technical and emotional triumph by a company who successfully use innovative ideas to explore complex issues.