2023
****
Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff
Mon 8 Oct
Lisa Parry’s vision of post-Brexit Britain isn’t the brightest. In the debuting playwright’s fictional future, the UK is a place of both increased surveillance and increased violence. Technology may be getting more and more advanced but society remains as fractured as it is now, if not more. It’s in this changing world that the characters of 2023 find themselves: an artist, a scientist and, in some ways, a piece of art made in a laboratory.
Chris and John are happily married, living a comfortable life and ready to have children of their own. That idyllic life is disturbed by the arrival of Mary, one of a number of children born via sperm that Chris donated eighteen years ago. In the quest to learn the truth about herself and her siblings, Mary ends up doing more harm than good.
At its core, 2023 is a morality tale for the Black Mirror generation. Gamete donation is a prism through which Parry explores the level of responsibility that any parent has to their child. Richard Elis’ nuanced portrayal captures the indecision and perplexity of Chris’ situation wonderfully, while Stephanie Back gives a breakout performance as the troubled teenager. Tom Blumberg gives just as strong a performance as his co-stars but his character John feels like a fish out of water, engrossed in his own little play about casual homophobia and his struggles as an artist. Parry seems to want to make a statement about attitudes towards gay relationships when, in truth, the real statement would have been to normalise it. It is her world to define, after all.
Other than an overly elaborate set, which leads to long scene changes, Zoe Waterman directs the play with a pleasingly deft touch. There is naturalistic lighting for the most part, while Matt Hall’s homage to sci-fi soundtracks is a fun accompaniment. It’s Waterman’s work with the actors that really stands out though, especially with Elis and Blumberg. Their relationship is very believable and, as a result, Back’s interjection equally so.
Though they’re not all germane to the subject matter, 2023 asks a lot of difficult questions. Parry has written a play that constantly throws moral quandaries into the air and lets the audience decide where they should land. Illumine Theatre treat the subject matter with the sensitivity it deserves and, narrative flaws aside, that makes for an engaging ninety minutes.
words Jafar Iqbal
2023 runs until Sat 13 Oct at Chapter Arts Centre. Information: www.chapter.org/2023