★★★★☆
23.5 Hours, an American play, is having its European premiere at Park Theatre this month.
The production, put on by Blue Touch Paper Productions, OPM Productions and Adam Kenwright, features stellar performances by Lisa Dwan as Leigh and David Sturzaker as Tom.
The play grapples with sexual assault, the grooming of a minor, and the fallout of the subsequent charges against Tom. The script is punctuated by moral questions and seeks to answer how a stalwart of one’s community could harbour a dark underbelly.
Dwan’s performance carries the play, as the audience watches the spouse of an alleged predator descend into psychological destress as she tries to reconcile who she thought her husband was and who he might actually be.
The play subverts the usual focal characters of an assault case by not physically featuring the victim once, but rather focusing on the predator’s family and friends and how they come to terms with the allegations.
At times, I felt the script leaned a bit too much into a redemption arc or plausible deniability for Tom. The occasional presumption of innocence was uncomfortable and hard to digest – although it did succeed in driving home the point that predators will always have defenders. The themes and moral dilemmas started to feel circular toward the end.
The ensemble cast was overall strong but sometimes the American accents were unconvincing.
All in all, this is a well-executed production of a compelling script touching on important issues from a less mainstream perspective.
23.5 Hours runs at Park Theatre (PARK200) until October 5.
Photo: (C) Charles Flint
JADAR 