Savage in Limbo is an ambitious choice for a brand new theatre company, and a bold statement to make about the type of theatre you want to create. Although an early offering from John Patrick Shanley who went on to win many accolades and awards including for Moonstruck and Doubt, the quality in the writing is clear and adds gravitas to the piece, albeit evident that this is early on in his writing career. Pocket of Light theatre company step up and deliver this challenging and powerful drama with grounded reality.
Savage in the title is Denise Savage, the first customer to enter the Bronx bar in which this is set, while another woman is asleep on the bar and the bar tender waits in absolute stillness. It is 1984, the picture of their stuck lives is painted very quickly, the desperation oozes from Virginia Thorn who plays Denise. Savage is also a description of the lives they are all living, all five characters aged 32 having gone to school together, yet Denise has reached a breaking point in her life and wants to change. Into what, she doesn’t know. Her crashing into the other four is a catalyst for a different conversation to the usual, towards seeking outside themselves for perhaps something new; and this challenge is not terribly welcome, yet she persists: she is in motion and on her journey into a new unknown.
A welcome surprise in this piece is Shanley’s humour, in the darkest and most difficult places. Despite the seriousness of what the characters are going through, the humour is never inappropriate, as they find their own moments. The whole piece is gritty and genuine and these moments of light help us to see the characters as full, rounded and authentic. These characters are stuck, and Denise wants more: “I want to think out loud with other people” as she says, fearful of changing, and fearful of staying the same. When questioned about why bar tender Murk is watering his dead plants, he says “They don’t know that”, which is the clear metaphor for the whole play.
Director Sebastien Blanc and the actors have created a piece which shows the connection between these people who feel alone and disconnected. Contrasts and clashes are evident throughout but provoke thought and inspiration. All five are great in their roles, although Sangeeta Samsera Sharma is absolutely sublime as Linda, the woman whose value is focussed on whether or not her boyfriend loves her and finds her attractive. Her fierceness and raw honesty in the role and her authenticity is incredible. She simply is Linda, unapologetic, funny without realising, lonely, wanting the same and yet wanting more. Her retort to the self-absorbed Tony including “there are other stories than the one you’re in” are perfectly timed and pitched.
Lamb Bennett is also magnetic to watch as the fragile yet feisty April with clear mental health problems as well as alcoholism. She also plays it with junky twitching which works incredibly well and it all looks so real it makes her a tragic as well as slightly scary character. Even though “I’ve always gotten consolation where I can find it, even when it caused me grief” is a direct echo from Streetcar, it has a place here.
There is so much to inspire and challenge in this emotion packed production. The accents take you straight to the Bronx although if Virginia Thorn could crispen up the enunciation we would hear every important word from her as we can with the others. The only other negative is that in this particular run the stage placements need tweaking as although the audience is on three sides it’s played almost entirely to one side, meaning a whole section of the audience can only see the back of one character’s head for almost the entirety of the play. If those two issues are addressed for the remaining four performances, the audience will be in for a wonderful, highly recommended thought provoking night of quality theatre.
The Lantern Theatre, 12 October 2024
Savage In Limbo runs until 20 October 2024
Photos credit: Christina Jansen Photography
