Review: Reverberation, Bristol Old Vic
Review: Reverberation, Bristol Old Vic
By Claire Stone
Image credit: Marc Brenner
“This has made me want to go to the theatre more,” said my friend as we left the theatre after watching Reverberation which is currently playing at the Bristol Old Vic. Written by Matthew Lopez in 2008 and reset and adapted for a modern London, this production left us buzzing.
From the eye-popping dramatic big-bang opening scene, to the ethereal final word, I was hooked. The play is raw, bold, funny. And yet so tender in moments that my heart ached for the characters and the stories they were living.
I even had to wipe away the odd tear thanks to Michael Ahomka-Lindsay’s beautiful performance – he’s an actor to watch out for, no question.
His character, Jonathan, filled the stage with his voice and body and at the same time drew us in with the tiniest expressions that flitted across his face. His acting was so real that his on-stage panic attacks were almost frightening.
Eleanor Tomlinson and Jack Gibson were both equally spelling binding. Two very different characters, with very different lives, but both actors brought so much humour and fragility to their performances, it was hard not to love them both.
The set – a monochromatic Ikea-esque doll’s house view into four rooms, sparse yet packed and familiar to anyone who has ever shopped in flat-pack heaven – was spot on. We loved how the translucent stairwell in the middle of the stage was used to uncover loads of non-verbal emotion in the play. Kudos to Jack Sain who clearly directed this play with his entire soul.
It is a wonderful play – true to the title, it will be reverberating around my head for a long while.
