The River, Greenwich Theatre Review

Reviews

5 Oct

Reviewed by Chelsea for Theatre and Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review

Jez Butterworth has become a household name for theatregoers with his many hits. Some of these include Mojo, Jerusalem, The Ferryman, and most recently The Hills of California. So, it is not surprising one of his lesser known plays would make a comeback for a revival 12 years after its initial release. However, this play might be lesser known for a reason.

The River is about a man who brings his new girlfriend to his remote family cabin where he has come to fish since he was a boy. After a few moments of dialogue between them, she exits the room and another woman comes in without any notice or change from the man. It’s then that the audience realises this is not a liner play. The two women switch places throughout and we see that the same conversations and scenarios happen with both. Thus leads you to question the motives of the man and if these women are the only two he has ever brought to the cabin before.

The play is a slow burn and might not be everyone's cup of tea. Not much happens in the moment. The dialogue is mostly conversations of what happened off stage being retold again in large monologues, and the mention of fishing can grow tiresome. The actors all had standout moments, but James Haddrell’s direction of the play was perhaps a little too naturalistic as it was sometimes difficult to know what they were saying and or feeling outside of their emotional pleas.

The major standout of the show was the naturalistic and eerie set, sound and lighting designs of the play. Emily Bestow’s lived-in cabin makes you instantly understand where they are and is the perfect backdrop for the fishing talk that is laced through the play. This tied together with Henry Slater’s lighting design and Julian Starr’s sound design create the perfect atmosphere for this psychological piece.

Having read the play before, I did notice that this production added a small detail that is not in Butterowrth’s written script that starts and ends the play. A little boy comes out at the beginning and picks up a red dress and runs off before the first woman comes out. Then at the end of the play when a third woman comes out (not mentioned in the programme), he rushes into the room and they both look at each other in confusion before a blackout. It’s obvious that the man is the little boy grown up, but it is not obvious who the third woman is and what her significance is to the apparent rotation of women that come after her. Is she his mother? Is she one of the aforementioned women his uncle brought to the cabin? Who knows, and you are left to guess.

The play did do what good theatre is supposed to by making you wonder about it as you leave the space. In fact, as I left the theatre I could hear many people discussing their own thoughts as to what might have gone on, but upon further listening the mutual consensus was just utter confusion? Which I don’t believe was the initial intent for the production.

Greenwich Theatre’s production of The River is decent, but does leave the question, did it really need to be revived at all, and if so, why now?

The River plays at Greenwich Theatre until 27 October 2024