The setting: an idyllic looking couple, just a few days before a supposedly perfect holiday to Stockholm, Sweden.
The soothing sounds of nature and the loving description of each other sound perfect, but little thoughts (like remarking on an ugly moth inside their house, an omen, perhaps) invade their minds, derailing their rose-tinged descriptions of life with each other.
SuTCo presented Stockholm, the one-act play by renowned writer Bryony Lowery. Directed by Selina Thompson (who admits ‘it’s a bit of mental play’), it deals with how a pristine, perfect looking couple show their blemishes when you stop to look a second time, and even worse, how those blemishes are cracks leading to faults below the surface.
Although there are more people on stage (in the form of four nagging imp-like negative thoughts called “Us”), the show is carried completely by lead actors Beth Grant and Stephen Hall. They describe their seemingly perfect relationship in the third person, sometimes knowing the future (reminding themselves about the trip to Stockholm), sometimes stuck in the longing of the present, with questions sandbagging any efforts from the other one to communicate. All smiles are forced.
Surely there is no coincidence with a play called Stockholm? The first connotation in the audiences’ mind is probably Stockholm Syndrome, the dependence relationship between a captive and their captor. But here, who is the captor? Therein lies the brilliance of the play (and the harsh, stark reality it portrays): as in any destructive relationship, the role of hostage is a revolving (and revolting) door.
The production is pretty well made; minimalist, but with the bare essentials to get through. Some props might have bordered into being superficial, but they actually did play a subtle part in the play. If there was any problem, it was the audio, as a couple songs were a bit too loud, drowning out the dialogue (not much, thankfully).
At the end, questions linger in the air, hovering like vultures around a dying animal. Why is she so suspicious? Why won’t he talk to his parents? Perhaps the most important question is: Is this the end of the fight or just another step to a final conflagration?
Perhaps not the most romantic play to see, but then again, a bit of counter-programming is always appreciated these days. It is always fascinating to see the darker corners of love and relationships, whether to avoid them or to confront bad memories, which, like the darker actions this play shows, are best dealt with at the moment before they destroy everyone involved.