Opening with a bang (both literally and lasciviously) but ending with a whimper, One Day When We Were Young illustrates a little too effectively that for war’s hollow men, life is very long.
The framework of the script is slightly too frail to support both its underwritten characters. Like the Titanic’s infamously splintered door, this play can only hold up one of its young lovers’ character development. Resultantly male lead Barney White gets to cut his teeth on a sturdily written World War II conscript while Cassie Bradley exhausts her jaw attempting to chew through all the scenery provided to the young lover turned middle aged mother turned elderly author who plays second fiddle to him throughout. Designer Pollyanna Elston’s set is surprisingly rich but unfortunately clashes in palette with the sparsity of the Park 90 space.
Similarly, the story itself, although only eighty minutes in performance time, rather over ambitiously attempts to span half a century in wallpapers, washing machines, and wafers. Aidan Good’s incredibly awkward interpolations of top hits from various decades and Elston’s detailed dated costumes do little to allay the discomfort inherent in watching two very young actors put on their best old folks act as the play meanders towards an inevitably enfeebled conclusion.
Despite the ultimate lack of pay off in its plot, this production is well lit by Henry Slater, particularly in its first third, when its every element is at its most enticing. Bradley and White both expend considerable effort in establishing the chemistry between their characters that audiences have to cling to throughout the remaining hour of stage time. “Trembling with tenderness lips that would kiss form prayers to broken stone” that stone faced audiences cannot answer.
Reviewer: Kira Daniels
Reviewed: 3rd March 2025
North West End UK Rating:
Rating: 3 out of 5.
