The Brink, theatre review: Masterclass in twentysomething angst

Brad Birch’s unsettling new play is at times a winningly droll picture of existential angst, says Henry Hitchings, but it’s also a portrait of the education system being debased by private agendas
Helen Warner
Henry Hitchings12 April 2016

At the heart of Brad Birch’s unsettling new play is Nick, a 28-year-old teacher being eaten away by worry.

Vince Leigh’s Mr Boyd, the school’s devious head, insists that he’s just finding his feet, but Nick’s anxiety is sky-high. He keeps dreaming that there are bombs buried beneath the playing fields, which threaten to blow up the entire community. Although he’s persuaded that these devices are simply relics of the Second World War, there are other possibilities. It’s conceivable that he’s stumbled on a sinister government plot — and he wonders if the bombs are oozing toxic fumes that may be responsible for the pupils’ violent behaviour.

At the same time he’s grappling with the politics of the workplace, alongside sardonic colleague Jo (Alice Haig). He’s also struggling to make sense of his relationship with his curiously detached girlfriend Chloe (Shvorne Marks) — and of her relationship with her brash boss Martin (Leigh again, gloriously smug). Ciarán Owens does a great job of conveying Nick’s descent into an increasingly frazzled bewilderment, and Mel Hillyard’s lean yet occasionally startling production savours the surrealism of the writing.

Birch’s play is an at times winningly droll picture of existential angst that captures the malaise of confused twenty-somethings. But it’s also a portrait of the education system being debased by private agendas, and its offbeat 75 minutes can’t quite do justice to the meatiness of that subject.

Until April 30, Orange Tree, Richmond (020 8940 3633, orangetreetheatre.co.uk)

Latest theatre reviews

1/50

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT