By Their Fruits, which is written and directed by dkfash, is a poetic dialogue between a young couple as they grapple with shared and individual trauma, and how it continues to shape and affect them in the present day. The piece has several powerful and remarkable moments, yet ultimately lacks the momentum that it aspires to achieve.
The writing is at the core of this piece and is of excellent quality. dkfash is a wordsmith, rendering poetic lines that are moving, inspiring and transformative, yet these lines are often swallowed by the heavy direction of the piece. The writing moves the piece and performers quite naturally into new emotions and depths of the conversation, always cleverly a step ahead of the audience, hinting at a larger picture. dkfash has woven poetry and story together well to create a strong script that shines intelligently on its own.
This script is further powered by two strong performers, Ivan Oyik and Reba Ayi-Sobsa, who mould the poetic language into emotional dialogue. Oyik's more internal and quiet demeanour is wonderfully cast against Ayi-Sobsa's louder and emotionally charged persona. Ayi-Sobsa's performance, in particular, helps audiences understand the couple's dynamics quickly, and has the audience hanging onto her every decision. Oyik and Ayi-Sobsa create their own visual poetry, during a longer speechless reunion, with choreography by dkfash, and beautiful yellow and white spotlights creating a joint silhouette by Rachel E Cleary.
The set, designed by Amanda Ramasawmy, feels cosy depicting the minimal interior of their home. However, the stage is split into two, with the left half, the same room yet on a slightly elevated platform, a subtle metaphor of the relationship status. The performers, however, are frequently off-stage, allowing audiences to focus on their voices as they use the many entrances and exits available to them in the theatre.
The show, however, feels flat at times due to the excessive direction that distracts from the words. Although this can at times enhance the words, such as a well choreographed sequence about metaphorical weather, it mostly dilutes the weight of the words. With each line being delivered with a movement, both word and choreography being striking in their own way, there's too much occurring on stage.
Furthermore, plotwise the piece feels a little empty, although the flowery language covers it well. Both characters are irreversibly and forever altered by their trauma, and each react in their own right, often clashing and contrasting. Yet the actual depth of the trauma is barely touched upon, with it being murky allusions to the event. Not to fault the writing, as this can be compelling with a different directional approach, but in this context, doesn't quite provide the gravitas needed for the large movements.
By Their Fruits is an emotionally intelligent piece, that combines poetry, theatre and movement together to create a stirring show. With small changes, the piece will doubtlessly be as brilliant and powerful as it intends to be.
By Their Fruits is currently playing at the Theatre 503 until 30th November - for tickets and more information, you can follow the link here.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | photography by Ali Wright
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