Western Studio, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff
Mon 7 Mar
★★★★
words: GARETH LUDKIN
Highlighting the problematic nature of understanding, representing or re-imagining the impenetrable nature of an individual’s darkest thoughts, Beachy Head cleverly synchronises three perspectives of one man’s suicide. Utilising a range of mixed media and an intriguing use of space and props to represent these problematic perspectives, the play manages to capture the deficiencies in trying to capture the realities and consequences of suicide.
From a pathologist’s emotionless lab report to the response of Amy, the grieving widow, and the creative embellishments of a film-making duo who happen to catch the final moments of his death – and their subsequent endeavours to re-imagine the preceding events – Beachy Head examines how in each case, trying to discover the whole ‘truth’ will always fall short.
The stories intermingle as the characters revolve around a clever use of visual media and set manipulation to juxtapose the differing attempts to understand the emotional state leading up to Stephen’s final jump. Amy’s emotional response to the death of her husband is aided by pre-recorded point of view visual sequences streamed onto a screen, allowing the audience for a moment to capture the inner thoughts and hallucinations of Amy as she sees Stephen and recalls their final moments together.
Trying to piece together Stephen’s final thoughts proves problematic not only for Amy but also the film-makers who attempt to re-imagine Stephen’s final thoughts and emotions. With their artistic license they demonstrated how easy it is to misrepresent someone’s last moments. Their embellishments leave them only further away from the truth.
The performance was excellently crafted and I found as much joy in the ingenuity of the set and the use of various media to deliver the story, as the plot and characterisation itself. Turning what could easily have been a sombre and ill-judged portrayal of suicide into a highly creative, well researched and thoroughly thought provoking piece of theatre, Beachy Head creatively presents the impenetrable nature of suicide, highlighting just how hard it is to grasp, understand or re-imagine an individual’s suicidal thoughts or actions.