Foreverland, which is written by Emma Hemingford and directed by Frederick Wienand, is a play set in the not too distant future, where a genetic procedure which allows its users to live prolonged lives has been discovered. The play is mostly gripping, delving into a sci-fi future whilst addressing concerns that exist in the present day. Foreverland is a creative world with richly complex characters, which strongly emphasises the implications of this choice, creating a fascination piece. However, the piece can feel repetitive and tedious in certain moments that ultimately undermine this otherwise strong production.
Foreverland follows Alice (Emma McDonald) and Jay (Chrisopher York), a young 30-something couple, as they make the decision to undertake this new and highly exclusive procedure (with a detailed explanation of gene regeneration from Alice that both answers and raises audience questions). With the pressure of time and death removed from their lives, Alice and Jay enjoy decades together, experiencing the best that life offers and welcoming their pride and joy, a young girl Annie. Although blissfully ignorant of the struggles of the larger society, Alice and Jay begin to lose passion and ambition, reducing them to shells of their former selves. This is particularly evident when adult Annie feels estranged and repulsed by the procedure, leading to a blowout, with severe and irreversible repercussions.
The play makes it clear from the start that the procedure is expensive and thereby exclusive, yet this slowly dissolves into the background as Hemingford focuses the attention in the bubble of Alice and Jay's lives. Yet this fact bubbles beneath, often reappearing in smaller moments (such as Alice's almost OCD tendency for cleanliness, and a tough conversation about death with a young Annie). This truth bubbles over when the terms "Lifers" and "Fixed" become normalised, with both Alice and Jay believing in the latter. This spills onto society at large, reminding one of a dystopian future, especially with topics of immigration, racism, privilege, cleanliness being raised.
McDonald is incredible as Alice, instantly winning the audience over with her warmth and naivety. Introduced as a jittery, hopeful and sympathetic character, Alice's emotional journey is the thread that audiences cling to throughout the turbulent world created. Mcdonald's performance is heartfelt and genuine, and manages to make the smallest of Alice's mannerisms meaningful. The magnitude to which Mcdonald conveys Alice's emotions, whisking the audience along for the journey, thereby making her every grievance feel personal. The slow loss of light and passion, and desperation to cling onto nothing makes Alice a compelling character and Mcdonald shines in the role.
York as Jay is far less sympathetic, with an air of privilege and lack of self-awareness. Although a good-natured and sweet character, Jay's lack of emotional outbursts and suspicious activities, renders him an intriguing and multi-layered character. York is a charming performer yet Jay, despite being a leading role, doesn't quite leave much of an impact on the play as Alice. His moments of longing and yearning for a life that he lost are wonderful and subtle, but are often overshadowed by his determination and forced positivity to keep going. However, his relationship with Annie, both as a child and as an adult are thoughtfully scripted, and York carries this through with gentleness and grace.
Valerie Antwi as Dr. Lane, as both mother and daughter, is brilliant. Despite a small role, each character is introduced at pivotal moments and Antwi handles these important scenes with confidence. Caring and awkwardly hilarious, Antwi effortlessly guides the audience, providing moments of awkward laughter and wisdom. However, the undertones to both mother and daughter carry the most weight, and are well-delivered.
Emily Butler and Una Byrne share the role of Annie (child and adult respectively), and are well casted. Butler is adorable as the 7-year old Annie, with a bubbly energy and enthusiasm that helps reinforce the idea of the whole play. Her performance of "The Butterfly Cycle" is sweet, but it's the moments of her fear and anger that really showcase Butler's acting ability. Byrne is a strong performer, who pushes the play into high tension confrontation and raises the concerns. Depicting a younger generation, Byrne's contrasting approach in both performance and dialogue delivery to both Mcdonald and York adds authenticity to the scene. Byrne is given a tough role, yet handles it with ease.
Despite a running time of 90-minutes, Hemingford covers a lot of ground in Foreverland, with Wienand's direction helping keep this moving along rapidly without feeling too rushed. Yet there are moments where the pacing feels off, or oddly timed. Annie, who is at the centre of Alice and Jay's decision, doesn't appear till quite late in the play, downplaying her importance. This is further reiterated when she's not mentioned for over twenty years, with no explanation. Understandably she has changed greatly, but the depth of her continual revelations and outbursts aren't felt quite as keenly as they ought to be, appearing more to raise certain topics and proper dramatic conflict than a fully developed character. The final scene, is beautifully written and performed, yet drags on, unfortunately rendering what begins as a tearful scene into one with little emotional impact.
The set (Peiyao Wang) is minimal with a block stage and a curtain as a backdrop that conceals something each character appears to be scared of. This helps create tension, especially coupled with light and sound. Lily Woodford (lighting) and Jamie Lu (sound) help with quick transitions, both in terms of time and scene, and also emotional and atmospheric shifts. Montages of the passing decades is depicted with a clicking sound, and momentarily dipping of the lights, both in a satisfyingly fluid unity. Director Wienand has also helped choreograph swift movements that propel the characters quite naturally into the future with every transition, with dialogues often being carefully distributed.
Foreverland is an intelligent and emotional piece that brings a dystopian future into an important conversation about society. It is currently playing at the Southwark Playhouse Borough until 19th October. For more information and tickets, you can follow the link here.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | photography by Charlie Lyne
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