EVERY BEAUTIFUL THING
DIRECTOR: Tara Notcutt
CAST: Briony Horwitz, Jazzara Jaslyn
VENUE: Alexander Upstairs
UNTIL: Saturday
RATING: ***
EVERY Beautiful Thing is an intimate story about sisters and what binds them.
The two-hander is as much a sparring session as a confessional, with two women confronting each other as only sisters can.
Written by Jon Keevy (who wrote and directed Briony Horwitz in A Girl Called Owl), this one also touches on the theme of growing up. But, this play is more about how people can differ even if they grow up in the same way. But, at the same time, your siblings know you best and know exactly why you are the way you are, ie. family.
Katelyn (Jaslyn) has just rolled her car down a mountain and Susan (Horwitz) is by her hospital bed to make sure she is okay.
Well, obviously, Katelyn is not okay since Susan has a suspicion that the accident was deliberate, but that is what family is supposed to do, care what happens to you.
Since the younger Katelyn is somewhat high on drugs, her impulse control – which according to Susan was never great to begin with – is somewhat impaired and things get said. Things that neither of them, despite being raised together, have really admitted to each other before.
Talk-heavy, the drama plays out on a minimal set with Katelyn lying in her bed and older sister Susan hopping up and down from a chair, depen-ding on how agitated she is.
The staging is simple, directing your attention to the interchange between the two.
Susan is the lawyer who likes control and to be precise. Getting the words just right calms her down. Katelyn, on the other hand, acts like the classic spoilt child, always seeking validation and attention.
And, as much as this is Katelyn throwing her own pity party and Susan blowing her top for the umpteenth time, this is very much about how the one’s behaviour influences the other and they construct their personalities in synch with, and in contrast to, each other – because that is what sisters do. Their increasing honesty finally leads us to the title reference – that behind every beautiful thing lies a pain of some sort. Susan’s precise manner and controlling ways mask her own set of insecurities which wouldn’t be what they are, if Katelyn wasn’t who she is.
When compared to Keevy’s other work, this is a small story, concentrating only on the two characters even if you do recognise the nature and meaning of family and your own interaction in their relationship.
The words flow beautifully off the tongues of the two actresses, who keep your attention for that hour, but don’t haunt you beyond the entertaining experience of the moment.