In its first London revival since 2012, the Greenwich Theatre houses Jez Butterworth's The River, a play that ultimately leaves the audience with more questions than answers. This statement isn't so much a criticism of the piece, but more of a realisation of how the play develops and ultimately ends. Directed by James Haddrell, this play is captivating, intriguing, but also inconclusive in equal measure.
The mood is set as you enter the auditorium by atmospheric sounds of nature designed by Julian Starr, which is continually used throughout to provide an authentic backdrop to the setting of the play. Our setting is a rural cabin in a forest by a river, beautifully designed by Emily Bestow which is both realistic, yet understated.
We begin with a young boy entering the cabin, crouching down to pick up a red dress, a symbol of significance further down the line before the first of our main three characters appear. 'The Man ' portrayed by Paul McGann is an obsessive fisherman who brings women to the cabin which used to belong to his uncle for sex, and ultimately love. He is joined firstly by 'The Woman' (Amanda Ryan) and then 'The Other Woman' (Kerri McLean).
Butterworth's script makes conversations between all three characters seem to be very repetitive in nature, but at no point do we get any explicit answers as to what has happened, and what timeline we are currently witnessing, everything is very implicit and open to debate. Now, this very well maybe the exact line in which Butterworth wants to direct the audience, and for that part, it is both genius and frustrating for those of us who crave closure. The pace does drag from time to time but play doesn't tremendously suffer from this.
The Man inherited the cabin from his uncle who indeed also was a great lover of women and fishing, but he was ultimately a man lost in a cycle misery as he never settled down and found the love of his life. Now through Butterworth's writing and McGann's performance, it's implied that he too is in this cycle of which he is desperate to free himself. However, because he doesn't truly open up to them, we don't know what he truly wants from these women.
It has to be said that the chemistry between the characters is undeniable, McGann flits seamlessly between charismatic to anxious and is the key in this piece to keep the audience's attention. Ryan plays her role as a more stern figure than McLean's more playful, witty woman.
As previously drawn upon, this piece is more implicit than explicit which keeps you guessing between what is reality and what is vague memory. Indeed we question what type of play we are watching, is it a ghost story play? is it a parable? Symbolisation is used throughout, one example being a robin which both women see in the cabin, a symbol that traditionally associated with the presence of spirits and souls of the recently departed and divine presence so this fits both. So many questions are left unresolved as the audience leaves the auditorium, has anyone died? who went missing? were these meetings with the two women figments of the imagination of a sad, lonely man? This leaves us continually replaying scenes in our heads, searching for things we may have missed and seeking the closure we need. The very fact we feel this way is testament to the writing genius of Butterworth.
The River runs at Greenwich Theatre until 27th October - for tickets and more information, you can follow the link here.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | photography by Danny Kaan
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