![]() Set design from Caitlin Mawhinney on the other hand is excellent. It’s not an idea to be dismissed in a piece exploring memory, trauma and dementia, but it doesn’t quite land here, feeling awkward and overdone where it should presumably feel poignant and enlightening. Less effective is Mcvey’s inclusion of a flashback to childhood, played by the existing cast who don’t quite pull it off. It’s nice to have a story take the time to flesh out such a character too – to learn of the muted woes of the ‘support’ character is refreshing. Sue Rawson’s take on the carer role is perfectly pitched to play into Mcvey’s pointed ambiguity her support blankets the surviving members of this struggling family as they co-exist without much connection. Mcvey’s performance as the daughter is booze-addled and tormented, courting sympathy even as her disproportionate behaviours create distance. They’ve all suffered loss Chris Rawson gives the father a deflated, helpless air but with a tentative resignation of the stoic variety, even as his daughter becomes ever more sharp around the edges. Our cast of three are various incarnations of internalised anguish. But there’s tenderness and more gentle handling of the subject matter here too, which is no doubt a warm reflection of Mcvey’s time spent with dementia patients and their families. Mention dementia and every slip up becomes a screaming siren of alarm. ![]() Perhaps the most defining element of this story is its ability to highlight just how susceptible we are to suggestion when seeds are planted. The notion of time slipping away and the lost urgency for living in the moment leave us questioning precisely which of this trio really needs either of the others and in what capacity. ![]() Now living with her father and greeted daily by a warmly can-do care worker, she’s a sitting duck for intrusive doubts of various kinds.Īnd that doubt extends to us through some well placed and sustained ambiguity across A Shadow of Doubt. ![]() Tuesday 11th February 2020 at Harrogate Theatre (Studio).ĭoubt and shadows do indeed pervade this interesting piece from Gill Mcvey, who writes, directs and stars as the daughter of a mother lost to dementia and a husband lost to an abrupt, unexpected end. ![]()
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