THE UNRETURNING
Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea
Thu 21-Sat 23 Feb
The phrase ‘history repeats itself’ serves as both a warning and a prime reason to see Frantic Assembly’s drama The Unreturning this month. Performed by Jared Garfield, Joe Layton, Jonnie Riordan and Kieton Saunders-Browne, this play by Anna Jordan explores the themes of returning from war and the devastation it wreaks, as three young men return to a small northern coastal town in three very different eras.
The play’s trailer features each man adjusting to life back at home. They all want much the same things upon returning: tea, a trip to the pub and the comfort of family. But they’re also looking for ways to deal with the traumas of their experience, in an exploration of the effect war has on young soldiers and what coming home really means to each of them.
In 1918, a little over a century ago, George is home from the Western Front. Fast forward to 2013, and Frankie is back, having completed his final tour of Afghanistan. A little into the future, in 2026, Nat returns from a refugee camp to what was his hometown. Once back, The Unreturning follows the adjustment of each young life, and whether home is really the place they remembered it to be, and whether it can help them overcome the horrors they experienced at war.
words Chloe Edwards
Tickets: £5-£14. Info: 01792 602060 / www.taliesinartscentre.co.uk