Bearable Sequence at Golden Goose Theatre Review

Written by Bronagh for Theatre & Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review

Content warnings: Themes of death, torture and blood. Themes of suicide. Abortion and artificial insemination. Parent loss, grief, death of child, Misogyny. Homophobia, transphobia and gender dysphoria

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Bearable Sequence is a new play, following five women who have bene ‘picked up’ and taken to a unit. None of them know why they have been placed here or what the future holds, all following the same daily sequence until truths bubble to the surface.

The script and story of Bearable Sequence is very bold and creative, instantly reminding me of The Unit by Ninni Homqvist and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. We meet Su, Ro, Be, Fi and Em (Alhena Al-Ali Douglas, Léona McClay, Beatriz Do O, Lydia Whitehead and Gigi Downey, respectively), all dressed identically and partaking in physical activity. We meet Ma (Katy Slater), a ‘mother figure’ of sorts who gives the group brown rice and a mysterious drink, laced with ‘nutritional elements’. We later see Ma really toying with the group’s emotions, cruelly making Ro rank them, but insisting that they are ‘her world’. Slater was great in this role, almost worryingly so! It’s all very regimental, and I was scratching my head as to what this unit existed to achieve. All until a very impressive final scene between Ro and Ma, coming after a spiral in Ro’s mental health and wellbeing. We find out the shocking truth and intentions of those running the unit.

I really enjoyed watching the cast throughout Bearable Sequence, they gelled well and all played a vital part in making this an enjoyable watch. Em and Ro were two standout characters, covering the more prominent topics throughout and doing a great job of doing so. The show was decently paced, but at times I felt like it was dragging slightly. I really think it could have benefited from a short interval for us to gather our thoughts. However, if hypothetically we’re keeping the interval, perhaps we could have had more of an exploration and expansion of the story and omitting short sections. The concept of Bearable Sequence is brilliant and could allow for many twists and turns. A little more polishing in this aspect could accelerate a perfectly good show into ground-breaking territory, which I don’t say lightly. 

I feel like it is important to particularly mention the gender topic, acted out by Downey as Em. Given recent news and rulings, I thought this was a pretty important topic to include, and Downey did this total justice. To include the suicide of someone with these feelings was the shock factor that was necessary to include and portray well.

Movement and sound (directed by Kate Gathercole and Bonnie Diver respectively) were used throughout, particularly through the ‘physical’ scene, which was akin to a tough gym class with the cast squatting and shadow boxing to a beat. Lighting, including total blackout, was used to show a change of scene and time of day as well as those breaks where Ro addressed the audience directly, asking if they even care or want to help. The three, as a collective, created a great atmosphere throughout.

Bearable Sequence is a great new play with a lot of potential. The script and cast are like a perfectly paired wine and cheese, magnificent storytellers all really shining throughout. Ninety minutes is pretty long for a one-act production, and although I wasn’t clock watching by any stretch of the imagination, I feel like we could have had more engaging detail and further exploration of the murky world this group find themselves in. 

At the Golden Goose Theatre until 15th May 2025.

★★★