CONNECTION (Thornhill Theatre Space/Ikarus Theatre Collaboratives)****

 

By Louise

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOoto_6gmv0

Available until: Unknown

Connection tells a story which I think most people can relate to as so many of us are going through something similar. The story is set in the present day and the characters are a widowed man called Marco who has recently retired and his two children, Peachy and Benny.

Peachy, who works in healthcare, is concerned about their father, and her job makes it difficult for her to visit him. She wants Benny to help, but Benny and Marco don’t get on that well and haven’t spoken for a long time. So Peachy sets up a video call with Benny and talks to him about Marco, then they bring Marco into the call.

There are lots of lovely moments, like Peachy working so hard to bring her dad and brother together. We get to see the issues in Marco and Benny’s relationship first-hand and things are obviously a lot more complicated than it seems in the original conversation between Peachy and Benny. Peachy is very clever as she has arranged the call during her break and she has to go back to work, leaving Marco and Benny to talk.

Justin Ayran wrote the script and he also plays the role of Marco, who seems like a very healthy and capable adult who is probably coping better than either of their children and does his very best to take what happiness and humour he can find in a sad situation.

I think the play does remind us to care about older people, but there are also hints that younger adults need looking after too. Peachy has worrying health symptoms and Benny seems very unhappy. I think it is good to look out for the older people who might be more vulnerable, but it’s also good that Marco has connected with his children again so he can look out for them.

Mr Ayran is really lovely as Marco. Ina Salonga shows Peachy’s caring side and also that she’s rushed, stressed and distracted, as everyone in the healthcare profession must be. Rafael Jimenez has less to say as Benny, but you can see a lot of what he is feeling just from looking at him. The idea of Connection is quite a simple one on the surface, but it is actually very clever.