The world premiere of ‘Something In The Air’ by Peter Gill was staged at Jermyn Street Theatre. A beautiful and poignant reminder that no matter the age of the outer shell, the inner memories of youth remain.
We arrive in a care home where we meet Colin, played by Ian Gelder, and Alex, played by Christopher Godwin. They begin to recount their youth and the boys they had loved. Meanwhile we see, what at first, feels like two younger versions of themselves acting out various scenes from the past. The most lovely moments coming between Gareth played by Sam Thorpe-Spinks and Alex, having a conversation that spans time. It would have been lovely to see more of this.
Juxtaposing the reminiscences nicely were two visitors in the modern day setting of the care home. They were Alex’s niece, Clare, played by Claire Price and Colin’s son, Andrew, played by Andrew Woodhall. Chipping in every so often, in between large monologues from the two leads, it is nice to be pulled back into the present moment as well as leaning into the past. Andrew notes the two older gentlemen are holding hands at one point and tries to pull them apart; an emotionally difficult scene to watch. There also seems to be more to the character of Clare as she has some choice lines, however we are only allowed into this small snippet of Alex and Colin’s life, leaving us wanting to know more about the other characters.
Towards the end is a twist, which I won’t reveal here, however it would have been nice to have allowed this revelation time to breathe. It also came at the same time as new information about Andrew’s brother so, it was difficult to process everything at once, so close to the end of the play.
Running at 70 minutes, the play could have been cut to just one hour which would have given it a more even pace, less lengthy monologues and time to allow the end to unfold slowly rather than be so abrupt.
Playing until 12th November, https://www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk/show/something-in-the-air/
Reviewer: Caroline James
Reviewed: 18th October 2022
North West End UK Rating: ★★★