-0.13°C Paul T. Davies reviews A Year and a Day, staged at the Headgate Theatre.
As the second and final weekend of the Colchester Fringe Festival arrives, some exciting new shows open, including this gem from Raising Cain Productions. It’s an intriguing and original concept. A Year and a Day follows the life of Nathan, a man who is cursed so that every time he falls asleep, a year and a day passes.
Leaving behind a botched heist, the love of his life and an upset criminal gang, Nathan’s absence causes all sorts of trouble for the ones he cares about. Spanning 65 years and set across County Meath in Ireland and Norfolk, England. A Year and a Day sees Nathan trying to correct his wrongs as he rapidly skips through time.
It’s classic Fringe material. With no set, no props and minimal costume, the entire play rests on the storytelling skills of Christopher Sainton-Clark, and he is excellent. Playing multiple characters, he slips between time and plot effortlessly, and what could have become a complicated vision is told with utmost clarity. It takes considerable skills to hold an audience transfixed for an hour, and here he succeeds effortlessly. Simple lighting changes and sounds indicate the passing of a year and a day, and the piece attains good poignancy as time passes in different phases for Nathan and the love of his life.
There are elements of H G Wells in the science fiction aspect of the story, which, for me, is another great plus to the production! It is well worth an hour of your time travelling.
