Grief begets isolation, and isolation begets loneliness in “Reverberation,” a keenly felt, haunting drama about two young people adrift in their lives who strike up a sustaining friendship.
Premiering in Connecticut in 2015, Bristol Old Vic presents the month-long, European premiere of the sexy, funny, and hauntingly human and drastically reworked “Reverberation”, from Matthew López, the Tony and Olivier winning writer of “The Inheritance”.
This three-hander centres on Jonathan (Michael Ahomka-Lindsay), near-agoraphobic after a personal tragedy and with little social life beyond the men he meets online, and the deep-rooted changes undertaken when the enigmatic, high-spirited Claire (Eleanor Tomlinson) moves upstairs. Their paths cross and they’re drawn together by a need for emotional attachment, but Jonathan's past continues to haunt.
“Reverberation” resonates as a sophisticated study of trauma, connection, and urban isolation. Directed by Jack Sain, this captures the visceral push-pull of intimacy and detachment.
The cast - Eleanor Tomlinson as Clare, Michael Ahomka-Lindsay as Jonathan, and Jack Gibson as Wes - imbue each scene with raw humanity, revealing the fragility and resilience of those seeking solace in modern life.
Opening with a charged, exquisitely choreographed encounter between Jonathan, a reclusive illustrator, and Wes, a young man seeking connection, the production establishes a tone that is intense, unguarded, and disquieting.
After a personal tragedy, Jonathan has withdrawn from the world, with little social life beyond the men he meets online. When the enigmatic free spirit Claire moves into the flat upstairs, she tries to coax him out of his shell. Drawn together by a mutual need for emotional attachment, they form a connection, but the past eventually reverberates into the present.
Matthew López’s extraordinary play about loneliness and longing was originally staged in Connecticut in 2015. This brand-new production has been reshaped by López, transposing the action across the Atlantic to London, and will be the play’s European premiere.
Lopez centres on just three characters, a relatively simple set of one apartment above another (designed by Ti Green), and one key theme: the formation of a friendship.
Jonathan actively avoids other human company, but later, he will shift into an unnerving, borderline-manic state as his friendship with Claire solidifies. But the strength of this exposition does not depend on this tragic climax. Rather, it stems from the complexity and sensitivity of López’s writing, given space to breathe by Jack Sain’s sparse direction.
One strength of Lopez’s writing is how we learn about the personal tragedy that has caused this change in behaviour. He is clearly drinking too much, and we are drip-fed elements until the full story comes out.
Crucial to this tragic dynamic is the play’s stellar cast: Tomlinson can express deep-set sadness behind the eyes even as her character goes about the world with the brightest smile on her face; Gibson’s Wes, meanwhile cuts through the most gut-wrenchingly awkward interactions with humour that is both heartbreaking and funny. In his limited stage time, Gibson makes an impressive professional debut.
Ahomka-Lindsay has the makings of a true star in his ability to make Jonathan both somehow unreachable in charm and good looks, and also a relatable everyman.
When we meet Claire, she appears as a loud, bubbly American, full of confidence and quick wit to boot. But as her friendship with Jonathan develops, we learn that she’s toying with her own demons and seems to always be running from something.
Eleanor Tomlinson brings a thoughtful humanity to Claire, as she explores the character layers of sensitivity and suppression.
Clare disrupts Jonathan’s isolation. Her presence, vibrant and unfiltered catalyses Jonathan’s awakening. They create an unconventional companionship, a dynamic characterised by both friction and tenderness as they navigate their shared loneliness. Their rapport offers not just warmth but insight into the nuanced intersections of grief and desire, as each seeks refuge in the other without fully opening up.
The action sways with effortless fluidity from moments of levity to others of almost silence, such is the poignancy of the struggles that Jonathan is confronting.
The set is a clever upstairs, downstairs flat set up, which allows the audience to see the story of the two characters unfold simultaneously at times and includes some clever features, like the lights that turn on automatically in the ‘hallway’. Visually, there is a lot to symbolise the emotional change. By the second half, the cluttered set has become far more stripped back, Claire’s outfits become more toned down as her personality becomes more grounded, and Jonathan begins wearing more colour, representing his growth in hope.
Nicola T. Chang’s subtle yet evocative sound design resonates deeply with the narrative, crafting a soundscape of reverberations that heighten the play’s quieter moments and underscoring the more conversational scenes flawlessly. Daniel Denton’s video design, too, adds an atmospheric layer, giving Jonathan’s world an almost cinematic feel that amplifies the sense of fragmented reality.
Director Jack Sain does a marvellous job in choreographing movements around the apartments, and scene changes are executed with style and no small amount of wit. This is enhanced by the dramatic lighting and sound changes. Dialogue switches from a rapid back and forth to traumatic retellings with ease.
Sain’s direction, paired with the cast’s piercing performances offer a haunting reflection on isolation, memory, and the quiet echoes of lives intertwined yet fundamentally alone. With a promise to turn the theatre into a hub of new writing, Reverberation is a powerful demonstration of why presenting main stage new plays is important in opening the Old Vic up to a wider public.
An authentic, haunting, and brilliantly acted play shot through with loneliness and grief: at times tender, at others visceral; at times hilarious, at others disconcerting. It is a play about lost souls finding each other in the dark, about loneliness, longing, and denial.
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