A flawed plot is somewhat rescued by strong performances in Oli Forsyth’s Brace Brace.
By Hamza Jahanzeb | 20 October 2024
Photo credits: Helen Murray Photography
Sylvia (Anjana Vasan) and Ray (Phil Dunster) are two lovers at the heart of the latest drama to grace (brace? SORRY) the upstairs space of the Royal Court. It details the story of lovers as they survive a plane hijacking, and have to decide how they will move on with their lives after one of them really did help to save the entire aircraft of crew and passengers. Ideally, I’d love to have seen a one-woman play with Sylvia as a matter of fact (the heroine in all of this), and her grounded. Instead, Forsyth chooses to splay the dialogue across the couple with a third actor to play several roles, including the Hijacker himself (played terrifyingly by Craige Els). We also have an odd choice to have a fellow survivor Layla (Leila?) whose father is also played by Els.
Now, to begin with, I did enjoy the way that the set was designed and the runway-inspired (no, not the RuPaul kind) staging was quite groovy as far as sets go. Given the small intimacy, it was nice to see a metre feet between the actors. There were no moments at which the actors had their backs to the audience for too long.I must admit I was expecting for the set to half-move in some way shape or form – perhaps level the runway set – but it remained stationary for the duration to my dissatisfaction. Given the brilliance of what was achieved with Blue Mist, it felt like the lack of innovation in the set was a misfire, when this could have been remedied with a turbulence-free vision by the creative team.
That is not to say, however, that the immersive experience was below par; in fact, at times I did feel like I was in a metal tin-can ready to take flight (or descend in this hijacking’s case). The mixing of the sound and lighting created a superb illusion, and almost too real at times. This play is not the kind of plane for anyone who’s afraid of flying, that’s for sure!
The writing in this play sadly didn’t lift off, but had its moments of sparkle on an intermittent basis. More specifically, it holds a mirror up to couples whereby the power-dynamic is evident: Ray is clearly threatened by Sylvia’s standing in life, and I found that ought to have been explored more. The conviction of Vasan and Dunster as the couple provides a believable portrayal of straight relationships, despite the reality lived being somewhat lacklustre and beyond the imagination. Vasan stands out as the strongest actor (most recently seen in Wicked Little Letters and opposite Paul Mescal in A Streetcar Named Desire) and Dunster’s (Ted Lasso) portrayal of Ray is satisfactory thouugh I note that his accent switches between two resulting in lack of considered consistency. There’s a particular scene where the character of Sylvia is interviewed on television, and this is where I felt Daniel Ragget’s direction was at its most creative. The screens either side of the stage show the live interview. Otherwise, the first half felt like too much walking around involved (*almost* a health-and-safety hazard for the actors on stage, not instilling confidence in the audience members watching).
Overall, this is a show that shines a light on a honeymoon gone wrong (how many people do you know have had their plane en route to honeymoon hijacked?). It could have benefitted from a sharp edit of the plot points and attention paid to the dialogue. The ‘pilot’ of this show needed a Sylvia-esque rescue, but sadly its too far-fetched a plot failed to bring any sense of momentum for a sustained period.
Until 9 November 2024 only | https://royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/brace-brace/
** Note: I paid £15 for my ticket, with the 30 and Under scheme that the Royal Court partakes in. I won’t be 30 for much longer, and am making the most of this offer for those who can benefit from a concession rate. I have not been gifted the tickets in this instance, and the editorial line in the above review is all my personal control and from what I saw on the stage with no external bias/influence/portrayal of the material on stage. **