Overview
How far would you go to try to make your partner happy? Silo Theatre's latest play Belleville is a tense, highly personal and captivating look at a marriage on the brink of collapse.
Written by up-and-coming playwright Amy Herzog it centres on American couple Abby and Zack. They're in their mid 20s and on their OE in Paris where she teaches yoga and he's helping to fight pediatric AIDS. Sounds idyllic, doesn't it? In the opening scene Abby catches Zach indulging in online porn. After she gets over the initial shock she wants to know why Zach isn't at work. He's evasive and tries to change the subject. Shortly afterwards their landlord Alioune visits demanding Zach pay him the money he's owed. That's when the cracks really begin to form.
Sophie Henderson and Matt Whelan play the complex lead characters with self-assured maturity. Abby is still consumed with grief after losing her mother to cancer several years ago. She's recently come off the meds and her behaviour is erratic, emotional and accusatory. Zach seems like the stable one here but that judgement is turned on its head when we learn more about the lengths he will go to please his wife.
The set design, sound and lighting are used to excellent effect to underpin the tension between the couple. A mobile phone ringing has never been so emotionally charged and spotlights on characters highlight their isolation. Extra long pauses allow for moments of reflection and add to the realism of the situation. Doors to other rooms open and close but with large gaps between walls the audience never completely loses sight of actors. The graffiti painted walls remind us that Abby and Zach are strangers in Belleville.
Alioune and his wife Amina, played by Tawanda Manyimo and Karima Madut, are long-time Parisian residents and unfortunate casualties in the breakdown of this relationship. When they're not speaking to Abby and Zach they communicate in French, meaning they have to imbue their performances with an added level of emotion to get their ideas across. Their final scene together is a poignant reminder of how universal raw emotion can be.
Herzog's thought-provoking and well-paced script is in more than capable hands with Silo Theatre. I can't really fault it. Belleville is an exhilarating ride that will stay with you for days.
Photo credit: Andrew Malmo Photography