As we enter the pop-up Rotunda Theatre we find ourselves confined with the only two characters of the play – Alice and Daniel.
An immersive and intimate atmosphere engulfs us; we’re drawn into their world, looking upon two people in rooms next door to each other and feeling as if we too are locked in with them.
The play begins when Daniel reluctantly lands himself in a rehabilitation centre and Alice starts speaking to him through the wall, represented by white tape on the ground. After sussing one another out, the two eventually strike up an unlikely friendship as they bond over their treatment.
Though physically close to each other, the wall that separates them comes to represent their differing viewpoints towards their treatment. Alice takes the centre’s word as gospel – she’s memorised the 12-step programme and can meticulously provide details of the different types and stages of treatment offered at the centre. Daniel, on the other hand, is sceptical: he feels he is being treated like a child and, at first, approaches the treatment in a very performative manner.
As we witness the interactions between the two, we see how they both reflect and question their viewpoints as a result of their growing intimacy. This results in moments that quickly flit from misunderstandings to funny quirks and mildly profound realisations.
Rather impressively, Louis Cavalier who plays Daniel (and who also wrote the play) alongside Ava Dodsworth as Alice manage to not make any eye contact during the play, emphasising the minimalist staging and making us truly believe in that wall. Both were believable as new acquaintances who were able to become deeply intimate with one another, sharing their innermost thoughts without ever actually seeing each other despite – or perhaps because of – the difficult circumstances they found themselves in.
This play is just 30 minutes long, which may be enough for some, especially for those who are not fans of confined spaces. But others may be left with a need to know more about what happened to Alice and Daniel next and crave more time with them through the wall.
By Fiona Hurd
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