The Stage

Early Bird

Published Monday 8 February 2010 at 11:30 by Sally Stott

“Don’t touch the Perspex box or you will break it,” we are sternly warned before the start of Leo Butler’s new play about a couple attempting to deal with the disappearance of their child.

Catherine Cusack (Debbie) and Alex Palmer (Jack) in The Early Bird at Finborough Theatre Photo: Tristram Kenton

The action takes place inside the large transparent cube, an ingenious device that allows the audience - who sit around its perimeter - a 360-degree view of the actors via their reflections, thus counterbalancing a common constraint of the in the round setting. However, the cube inevitably creates an emotional barrier between the audience and the performers that might lead you to wish you hadn’t paid quite so much attention to the request not to break it at the start.

Catherine Cusack and Alex Palmer work hard to make the agonising journey of tormented parents Debbie and Jack relatable. However, they can’t escape the fact that Butler’s interest lies in the psychological effects of the missing child scenario, rather than in developing the characters more fully through a clear narrative.

The decision to represent the missing Kimberley via a Doctor Who-style electronically enhanced voice is also odd, shifting between being humorous and haunting in a way that doesn’t feel entirely intentional. Overall this is an atmospheric production, but it’s a shame that the emphasis has been placed on experimentation and mood - dramatic elements that feel rather cold in relation to the emotive topic of missing children.