LUCY LIGHT written by Sarah Milton and directed by Scott Ellis Theatre N16, Balham 17 September – 7 October 2017 ‘A beautifully compact two-hander about a friendship overshadowed by death and illness.’ ★★★★ Lucy and Jess squabble, get drunk on cheap wine and talk about boys. They are best mates and pretty much normal fifteen year old girls. Except for one thing. Lucy’s mum is dying of cancer and she is at risk of contracting the disease too. She has a big decision to make – whether to have a double mastectomy, a pre-emptive move to save her from a similar fate to her mother. This is a beautifully compact two-hander about a friendship overshadowed by death and illness. The two young actors are superb as the girls stranded in Scarborough, dreaming of boys and nights out in York. Set over a decade, Sarah Milton’s script take us through the key years of growing up whilst Lucy’s (Bebe Sanders) decision is deferred. Lucy’s dilemma distresses her brash friend Jess (Georgia May Hughes) who, by her own admission, is prone to act stupidly under stress. She finds it hard to take Lucy’s situation on board. But Jess’s denial provides some of the normality that Lucy desperately needs. While Jess finds it hard to talk about the situation, and is horrified of the prospect of Lucy’s potential operation, she never deserts her friend. The ten year timeframe opens up some fun noughties nostalgia. The girls dance to Atomic Kitten and, in the days when mobiles for teenagers were still rare, they have to call prospective boyfriends’ ‘home phone’, excruciatingly not knowing whether he or his parents will answer. The play had its origins in a short piece and clocks in at around 50 minutes. The length is perfect, with no extraneous scenes padding out the story. This makes the emotional punch of the play all the more powerful. The spare story telling means we catch glimpses, but are never entirely clear, about the extent these two are on the margins. Friends go to university and come back, get married, whilst the girls seem stuck. Jess dreams of owning a fancy café serving vegan flans, but remains in a minimum wage job, and we never hear about her own love life. Lucy is doing well working for a provincial newspaper but is unable to leave her father or make too many future plans. The play, with pitch perfect direction by Scott Ellis, is by turns emotional and hilarious, and the tender friendship always convinces. Not everything is resolved but this uncertainly is the whole point. The one constant is their bond. Inevitably there was hardly a dry eye in the house by the end and hopefully this is not the last we see of this moving play or talented team. Box Office: https://www.theatren16.co.uk/ . The play is presented in association with The Eve Appeal https://eveappeal.org.uk/. Reviewer Andy Curtis is a playwright who regularly has plays performed in London fringe theatre. He graduated from three cohorts of the Royal Court Theatre’s Young Writers Programme
