The Possibility of Colour, written, directed and produced by Pete Carruthers, is an exploration of mental health, synaesthesia, neurodiversity and how healthcare institutions, compulsory treatment, and relationships with friends and family affect people’s lives. Set in a terrifying dystopia in the near future, this play is a fantastic meeting of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Black Mirror which takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions and will leave you with plenty to reflect on in terms of your own mental health and that of others around you.
Joseph (Pete Carruthers) is a socially awkward architect with a seemingly insurmountable problem. His latest clients have bought a beach house in a neighbourhood where everything has to be white, but they want him to inflect “the possibility of colour” into his crisp and clean, but bland, design. His business partner, Helen (Amy Revelle) usually deals with all aspects of client management, but this time around, he will need to meet with the clients himself which makes him very nervous.
While Joseph is trying to prepare for this crucial meeting, he receives a call from Vigil (Verity Henry), the ever-present AI which acts as a smart-speaker, remote assistant, healthcare provider, doctor, therapist, taxi booking service, and seemingly everything else one might ever need. His sister, Aisling (Rachel Marwood) has been detained in a medical facility following her attempt to be signed off work for two weeks while the voices she hears are out of control. Aisling isn’t concerned about hearing these voices, as she has always heard Mollie (Chloé Proctor) and Lucas (Gareth Cassidy), and consequently has built a relationship with them, but Vigil’s frustrating “computer says no” behaviour means that she has now been designated a compulsory recipient of “the implant”.
The implant is a device which “cures” any neural activity which is “not normal” and guarantees a life of eternal happiness. Aisling doesn’t want to lose everything not “normal” that she experiences. She loves the chaos and ups and downs of her life, Mollie and Lucas are her best friends and she doesn’t want to be controlled by a robot in her brain.
So now Joseph has two important meetings. One with his sister to assess her mental state and give his approval for the implant procedure to proceed, and one with his clients to inject life into his colourless design whilst maintaining the white palette. To add to that, Helen wants to become an optional recipient of the implant after a disastrous date and keeps questioning Joseph as to why he hasn’t thought about having it, considering his lack of social skills.
Carruthers, Revelle and Marwood all do an excellent job of portraying their different characters. Carruthers’ sense of awkwardness and discomfort is palpable whenever he is onstage, and contrasts fantastically with his random movie impressions and bumbling attempts to flirt with Helen. Revelle’s performance as the seemingly confident Helen with a core of embarrassed clumsiness, creates a wonderful sense of a woman who has become so desperately lonely, she’s willing to relinquish control to a machine implanted in her head. Marwood’s loud and proud Aisling, is fabulous, and her ability to have conversations with Mollie and Lucas, at the same time as she speaks to the people around her, is brilliant. Her chemistry with the unseen Proctor and Cassidy is very strong and the three together create a sense of a close-knit relationship with genuine affection.
Henry is terrifying as the aptly named and omniscient Vigil, and has the fear inducing quality of HAL 9000, as she remains eerily calm throughout her performance. Like this ultimate AI horror performance shows, the calm, logical and cold processing of a perfect computerised brain is far more terrifying than violent emotions can ever be.
The reflections around compulsory treatment, which does exist in today’s world even though we don’t yet have implants which can exercise complete control over an individual, are tragic and heart breaking. Marwood’s desperation to retain herself is tangible as she screams in desperation at the dispassionate Henry in an honest and captivating performance. The portrayal contrasts well with the hope that Revelle has shining in her eyes as she declares that the implant is the only way out of her desperately lonely and miserable life. The balance of the advantages and disadvantages to treatment is excellent and highlights the need to treat people as individuals when working on treatment plans for conditions which are considered disruptive to the behaviour desirable in society.
Use of light and sound do a good job of illustrating to non-synaesthetic audience members what it is like to experience some aspects of synaesthesia. The displays are also very soothing and create a sense of how Joseph’s life with synaesthesia may be calming for some elements of his anxiety.
Despite the darker elements of the piece, there are many moments throughout which are genuinely heart warming and very funny. Carruthers has great comic timing, particularly with his impressions and Revelle’s description of her catastrophic date is full of awkward humour which also serves to enhance the sense of her isolation.
The Possibility of Colour is a fantastic piece of drama which draws out the joy of everything it is to be human and the value of experiencing the world in your own unique way. Brilliantly performed by each member of the cast, whether onstage or off, this is a fantastic insight into other people’s minds and authentically shows the world through someone else’s eyes. Thought provoking and interesting, there is also plenty to reflect on as we become more aware of mental health, neurodiversity and synaesthesia, and how we see treatment as a solution to people who don’t fit neatly into the boxes we have created to illustrate what “normal” is.
The Possibility of Colour is being streamed again on 2nd December 2022. Tickets are available here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-possibility-of-colour-live-sharing-post-show-qa-with-expert-guests-tickets-420578972027
Reviewer: Donna M Day
Reviewed: 1st December 2022
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★★