Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking, please fasten your seatbelts as we discuss Oli Forsyth's play Brace Brace, which is currently playing a sold out run at The Royal Court Jerwood Upstairs Theatre.
What would you do if you were on a flight heading off on a break to celebrate a wonderful moment in your life, only to have your plane hijacked and stare death straight in the face? What if you survived? How would you deal with the aftermath of such an episode? It's this very scenario and these questions which are explored in a pulsating 70 minutes of drama that has the audience on the edge of their seats throughout.
This is a play where all the creative dynamics seamlessly work together to create such a strong immersive experience for the audience. Anna Reid's clever set design consisting of a ramped airline-style walkway, coupled with Simeon Miller's fantastic lighting and atmospheric sound by Paul Arditti place your mind, body and spirit in an aeroplane in readiness for take off. A special mention must also been given to a great touch by Matt Powell, with his video design displaying all the usual pre flight material, which further enhances this experience.
The play begins with newlyweds Ray (Phil Dunster) and Sylvia (Anjana Vasan), who are about to embark on a journey that can never be forgotten. It's in this scene that we get the first genius piece of writing from Forsyth and direction from Daniel Raggett, as the fourth wall is broken and in character, Ray and Sylvia interact with the audience directly and helps us get to grips with their characters and nature. The chemistry between the actors is undeniable. Dunster and Vasan characterise their relationship so brilliantly through their charisma, humour, anguish and relatability.
Craige Els makes his mark as the plane's hijacker and exudes fear, honesty and realness, and with the helpful hand of Arditti's sound design and Miller's lighting, the audience are catapulted into the position of feeling onboard the flight in an unnerving and frighteningly realistic way. Alex Payne's fight direction in this moment is brutally realistic and has members of the audience gasping for breath, and even some turning away from what's unfolding in front of them.
The pace of this piece is unrelenting and maybe because the running time is only 70 minutes, some of the themes are not full explored and that may slightly affect the impact it has on the audience, and it is quite shouty in places but it certainly doesn't hinder it greatly. Regardless, this play really does pack a punch, exploring themes of jealousy, anger, exclusion and trauma. The creative team has excelled here in bringing all of the elements together so brilliantly, giving the actors such a great platform from which to build from.
As the play ends, the audience leaves the auditorium to the strains of 'Come Fly With Me' which was a great, humorous, finishing touch, relieving the pressure that has built through the last 70 minutes.
It's a cliche, but you need to beg, steal or borrow a ticket to this fantastic play which runs until 9th November, with tickets for every Monday performance going on sale at 9am the same day - available here.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4*)
Tickets gifted for an honest review | photography by Helen Murray
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