Dying City tells the story of the dying relationship of Kelly, a therapist, and Craig, a soldier. The play flits between two sequences; one featuring Craig in his moments with Kelly before he leaves for Iraq, and the other showing Kelly’s confrontation with Peter, Craig’s twin, when he unexpectedly visits her a year after Craig’s death. Crackling with repressed tension, the play gradually strips Kelly, Peter and Craig’s relationships to their ugly cores, finally reaching what should be a poignant and shattering finale. Frustratingly, this production never quite reached the emotional depths that the play hinted at. Performed competently and smoothly, it was a shame that the play never quite exploded in the way that the audience longed for.     

In the small space of the Corpus Playroom, actors Helena Blair and Matt Bradley were starkly exposed for the entirety of the 90-minute production. The stage was almost bare, depicting Kelly’s half-finished dingy apartment, with white sheets covering the walls and the sofa, and cardboard boxes littered around the stage. The set presumably alluded to Kelly’s relationship with Craig; almost finished, she couldn’t quite relinquish his hold on her from beyond the grave. Sadly, it also seemed representative of the chemistry between the two protagonists of the play, which lacked the dynamism it needed to set the play alight. In the cosy setting of the Corpus Playroom, the audience were close enough to see every intimate moment between the couple. I wanted to see shared sizzling looks and casually deliberate moments of physical contact, but these moments were brushed aside by the slightly exaggerated acting style that felt overwhelming in the small space, and hid any subtly between the two characters.

Having said this, both lead actors separately inhabited their characters well. The play’s transitions between the two time sequences were successful largely because Matt Bradley, playing both twins, effectively created two distinct characters. We could sense which character he was depicting by the very way that he held himself, by the expressions on his face. His portrayal of the energetic but gentle Peter contrasted well with the subtly harsher Craig, but he also alluded to the similarities between the pair, which became more evident as the play developed.

Helena Blair was charismatic and engaging throughout the play. However, the constant tension and anguish which infused her character was overplayed to the extent that it detracted from the key climatic moments of the play. Lines which should have been explosive became merely part of the continued heightened emotion of the character. We sympathised with Kelly, but we were not especially moved by her.

Dying City had the elements of a powerful production, and it sustained energy throughout. However, it lacked the necessary tension development which it needed in order to really make an impact upon the audience. On a Tuesday night, with the audience littered with eagle-eyed reviewers clutching notepads, it may be that nerves overtook the performers. Dying City is a haunting, moving play, which hinges on the unspoken. It is this silent but vital spark which is needed to let this production fly.