9.96°C “My sister smells of wood smoke, warm earth, oranges, and dust… we buried you in a wood underneath an oak tree. There are bluebells there in Spring.”
I had the privilege of reviewing Whole, written and performed by Emma Spearing, at the Mercury Studio. Following her identical twin sister’s death, Emma has created and curated the most beautiful piece about grief. At every performance, a volunteer joins Emma on stage to help her perform the show.
At the Mercury it was the brilliant Katie, so open, so willing to share her personal grief, and creating such a strong bond of trust. We are witnesses and part of the safeguarding steps, and, which is quite exceptional, the entire theatre becomes a safe space for the sharing of this story. We feel held.
Grief is overwhelming, inhibiting, brutal. But it can also be tender and gentle, and the evocation of memory can be powerful, and a tribute to the person lost.
Charlie was a spiritual, strong-willed person, and her love of nature allows Emma to create visual imagery, together with the volunteer, and many scenes – not least an arrogant ginger tom – will stay with me.
It’s hard not to use the word brave when describing this show. It is raw, honest, unique. But it never feels intrusive.
It observes Kübler-Ross’s stages of grief in a beautifully flowing and perfectly structured way. Anger towards the charlatan Stephen, who has become rich by exploiting the vulnerability of sick people, is triumphantly dealt with, and the closeness of nature and reference to crows brought to mind the poetical lament of Max Porter’s Grief is the Thing with Feathers.
There are revelations beautifully placed, especially towards the end of the show – hidden parts of the set that evoke the final journey. The direction by Kirsty Housley is sensitive and paced beautifully, and the performers are given space to talk and share.
It’s music, however, that opened up my grief — a Kate Bush song we all know and all share in — the personal becoming universal. (There’s a song by Michael Ball, my mum’s favourite, played at her funeral that I can’t really listen to anymore.)
Here, the movement conveys so many things: the strength, the defiance, the whole messy business of death and life.
Each performance of this remarkable piece will be different, but it will also hold you and allow you to leave enhanced and, dare I say it, whole. Beautiful theatre.
Whole is on tour throughout the region, including the Eastern Angles Centre in Ipswich.
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Paul T. Davies
