Notes To Future Self

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company

MAC, Birmingham

review by Andy Richardson

A major new work by the region’s premier theatre company doesn’t disappoint. Notes To Future Self is an engaging, witty and poignant piece of writing by Lucy Caldwell and her subject matter makes for perfect drama.

The action is set in the suburbs of Birmingham and features a single mother and her two daughters, one of whom is terminally ill. Their grandmother adds ballast to the narrative.

The central character, Sophie, is played by Imogen Doel with great skill. She brings anger and acidic humour to her rendition of the dying youngster.

Ably supported by Jayne Wisener, who plays her sister, Calliope; a suitably spaced-out hippy mom, Judy, played by Amanda Ryan, and a scene-stealing Jane Lowe, as the kind but infrequently impressed grandmother, Daphne, it is a fine ensemble piece.

Rachel Kavanagh’s direction is sure and true; the piece is set in the terraced home of the family and the action is concise and without frills.

Caldwell’s script excels when she portrays the anger of Sophie, who rages at her fate, or when she uses humour to explore the unfairness of the teenager’s life.

There are times, however, when the dialogue lacks luminosity: the use of such phrases as ‘sands of time’ and ‘water running through cupped hands’ were cliched and uninspired while Judy’s evident torment at the loss of her daughter was similarly underplayed.

Though Notes To Future Self has a strong cast, fine subject matter and marvellous direction, in the final analysis it represents something of a missed opportunity. There is a lack of pathos at times and Caldwell fails to elicit the sympathy that might be expected.

Nevertheless, it is a sterling team effort: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

* Notes To Future Self will continue at Birmingham’s MAC before beginning a UK tour that runs until April 9 and tickets are available at www.birmingham-rep.co.uk