9.05°C Paul T. Davies reviews The Bruise You Can’t See, staged at Firstsite.
A powerful and urgent topic is this. Theatre Inspiring Change tackles head on the subject of domestic abuse with a unique twist in that, several minutes in, the audience votes on which relationship we will see explored: a heterosexual one, a lesbian one, a male same sex relationship, or a pair in which the female is the abuser. At the performance I attended, the audience voted to see a same sex female relationship.
When the company goes into schools, this type of forum theatre continues, with consequences of the audience’s decisions being shown. It’s a shame that it didn’t continue at this performance. Still, I understand totally the demands of a limited Fringe time slot.
Some technical issues overpowered the performance; mainly, the music was too loud, and I struggled to hear much of the dialogue. The play consists of very short pieces, and the passage of time is shown by changing of clothes, of tops, and often, this pushed me back out of the story. The actors who do not take part in the scenes stare away from the action. Although this makes them look disconcerted, it is a good representation of how society looks away from the signs of coercive control.
I felt the piece was a little frenetic and needed to pause and let some nuance come through. However, this is to take nothing away from the passion of the project, and we are led to a very emotional and powerful ending. The cast, Amelia Parillon, Roseanne Connelly, Keaten Lansley and Tom Dalrymle, respond well to Sarah Ellis’s direction, and the piece is ambitious in its aims and in raising awareness of a highly topical issue.
