29 March

The show could have been about a number of things: love of place, nostalgia, friendship, regret, in fact the kind of things A.E. Houseman writes about in A Shropshire Lad. Houseman’s poem, Into My Heart an Air that Kills is referred to at the top of the show, where the “blue remembered hills” set the piece up as an attempt to give a modern reflection on what it means for young adults today. It’s a brave attempt to give the poem a kind of reboot through the eyes of two chums, Henry (Henry Madd) and Jake (Marc Benga) growing up in the imaginary small town of Dulowl where they indulge in nostalgia for a future that doesn’t come.

Surprisingly, parents hardly feature, if at all, in what is a series of narrative sketches about young and adolescent growing pains and experiences. Dark moments hint at the kind of navigation that is necessary in a small town where young adult life revolves around the local pub and predators lurk in the open.

Written by Henry Madd as a series of reflections on the past, it has the strengths and weaknesses of the episodic form. It works better as a piece of poetry since it is largely narrative and Madd writes well enough to make the text sing. On the other hand there is a lack of drama to draw us in and we have to rely on the admittedly skilful narrative talents of Madd and Benga. The two often indulge in excited mutual reminiscences, but there is little actual dramatic interaction consequently the characters of Henry and Jake are not given time to develop, whilst others in the narrative are mere ancillary to the lads’ stories.

It’s a story that will have resonance across the land in non-metropolitan towns where the dream of youth is often to escape to an imagined better future. Sensitively written with always an eye to the poetic phrase, the lack of any dramatic drivers prevents the piece from really soaring.

★★★☆☆  Graham Wyles, 30 March 2024