Dir. David Brown
Judith E. Wilson Studio
Four stars

Ian McEwan’s exploration of the isolation and anxiety of four orphaned children is successfully transferred from the novel to the stage in this inaugural adaptation of The Cement Garden.

As sand, water, and snooker balls are thrown across the stage, it becomes clear that this is a play which thrives on mess and destruction. Indeed, the production’s strength is in its physicality: the inspired and dynamic set, involving the cross-section of a house, positions the characters on different horizontal planes and cleverly visualises the relationships between family members. The distances created by the different levels are juxtaposed with moments of intense and intimate physical contact: every physical interaction between the characters appears to be carefully choreographed, and even hand-holding is performed in an isolated, uneasy manner in order to disturb the audience. The body language of the child characters is perfectly mastered; Kate O’Connor is superb as the infant Tom and Jack Monaghan’s performance gawky teenage protagonist is particularly striking. Indeed, the play’s physical side is most obviously shown by Monaghan as he somehow manically balances on the edge of a bathtub that was elevated onto a high platform. Abigail Rokison also has to be commended for her brave performance as the corpse that is chillingly buried on stage.

The Cement Garden is a daring production, in both its subject choice and its artistic direction, and this daring nerve is what makes FallOut Theatre’s work so engrossing to watch.

Daisy Boughtflower