The Stage

Next Swan Down the River Might Be Black

Published Thursday 9 February 2012 at 10:33 by Paul Vale

Sean Burn’s latest play takes the audience into the ward of a psychiatric hospital where we are introduced to three young women. Under the care and friendship of Zee, a student nurse about to graduate, Cerys is a depressive who has just been sectioned and Kay has bipolar disorder. The play examines the precarious relationship between the women and sheds some light on the complexities of psychiatric care in the 21st century.

Sometime poetic and often distressing, Burn’s play has spent ten years in development through various workshops and bursaries and yet the result is surprisingly thin. Burns evidently has something important to say but Next Swan whispers its vague message where clarity and a bold hand are called for.

The same is true for the casting, where despite earnest performances there is seldom any real sense of loss or distress conveyed. Maria Thomas puts in a touching turn as the recently sectioned Cerys but the notes of abuse and misfortune in the character’s background rarely ring true. It is only her burgeoning friendship with the Zee, played by Ambur Khan, that serves as a backbone to the story and in many ways helps to focus the dynamic of the writing. Easily the strongest performance here is that of Helen Embleton as Kay, who brings a manic unpredictability both to the story and to the stage.