Every One, theatre review: A gently probing look at bereavement

Chris Goode’s production invites a heightened awareness of the textures of everyday life, says Henry Hitchings
An ordinary life: Angela Clerkin and Michael Fenton Stevens in Every One
Richard Davenport
Henry Hitchings7 March 2016

Jo Clifford’s Every One is rooted in her experience of bereavement. Drawing on ideas and images from the medieval play Everyman, which reflects on the transience of life and the conflict between earthly and spiritual needs, it’s a gently probing piece.

Though it premiered in Edinburgh six years ago, this production is the first south of the border. Clifford pictures an unremarkable family, at the heart of which is Angela Clerkin’s buoyant Mary. She is a tax inspector — a detail about which she is apologetic — and in fact she tends to be self-deprecating. But her life is happy. Even doing the ironing seems to be tinged with joy.

Her husband is a former teacher whose sunny demeanour is tenderly conveyed by Michael Fenton Stevens. His appreciation of orderliness is paramount — and comes across vividly in his love of Latin grammar. Daughter Maz is chirpily obsessed with fashion. Son Kev is a gamer, headphones clamped to his ears. Mary’s mother is confined to a wheelchair and loses herself in a cloud of old memories. Addressing us directly, they seem personable and vulnerable.

Then one day Mary feels an odd weight on her shoulder — and soon afterwards she has a stroke. It’s a moment that’s simultaneously devastating and commonplace, leaving her family convulsed by loss yet also aware of their part in a much broader landscape of cataclysm. And when Death (Nigel Barrett) descends from the audience, he’s an unexpectedly jovial, velvety guide.

Latest theatre reviews

1/50

Chris Goode’s production, at first an exercise in scrupulously candid ordinariness, turns into something disorientating and dreamlike. It’s a slow-burning hundred minutes that invites a heightened awareness of the textures of everyday life.

Until March 19, Battersea Arts Centre (020 7223 2223, bac.org.uk)

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT