On the Beach

No Time to Choose

On the Beach

(Part One of The Contingency Plan)

by Steve Waters

The Questors at the Studio, Questors Theatre, Ealing until 17^th June

Review by Polly Davies

On the Beach is part of a double bill under the collective title of The Contingency Plan playing in the Studio at Questors until June 17^th.  Originally performed in 2009 it has been tweaked a little to make the references to current events topical.  Set over the same time-period, with an overlap of characters, the two plays show very different perspectives on the same events.  Under David Emmet’s direction what they share is the ability to shock.   Steve Water’s plays are not a simple polemic about climate change, but the relentless progression of its effects is the theme than unites them.  Whilst Resilience is as much about political inertia as about an impending disaster, On the Beach uses that inevitability as a family drama, the explanation of a lifetime of disengagement.

In On the Beach, we see Jake Burman as the data-driven scientist Will Paxton returning from a spell in the Antarctic to his family home with Priya Patel’s Sarika Chatterjee as his new partner.  Initially this is a happy homecoming.  His mother Jenny, played by Fiona Partington is happy to have him home, intrigued by his new partner.  His father, Simon Taylor as Robin, is also happy to see him, but seems far more interested in talking about his research results.  What data does he now have on the melting of the Antarctic ice? 

As the play progresses the mood changes.  Sarika and Will are optimistic, looking forward to taking his work to the world, convinced that Sarika, a high- flying civil servant, can get Will the introductions he needs to make a difference.  The sparse set, with its slightly broken picnic table, weedy plant pots and scattered detritus was initially very believable as the familiar, family garden that two environmentalists might have.    As the play progresses without changing anything it starts to look more sinister, more neglected, more reflective of the mood of the characters. 

It becomes clear the parents are obsessionally living off grid, foraging, buying local, minimising carbon emissions.  This scene is full of mysteries.  Why did Will come back to UK, seemingly in the middle of his research?  What plans does Sarika have for him in London?  What caused Robin to abandon his own career and bury himself on the coast in the middle of nowhere?  Why is Jenny so defensive of him?  Fiona Partington’s Jenny perfectly expresses the frustrations and stresses of a woman who has gallantly thrown herself into the life that was chosen by her husband, but just occasionally, just very occasionally can’t supress them any longer.  But she will defend her husband and his choices to the end.

Simon Taylor plays Robin as an intelligent, mildly eccentric old man, rather more interested in watching rare birds than talking to his wife.  It is not obvious why she feels the need to be so defensive on his behalf.  But as the difference in views between the generations becomes more and more obvious a long-hidden secret is revealed.  I am quite partial to a bit of data to support an argument, so could feel Will’s well-expressed anger as the scientist son of a scientist realised that his faith in his father, and in his father’s work had been undermined.  And by his own father.  Their spat is interrupted by Sarika, in authoritative mode.  A crisis is unfolding; she must return to London and take Will with her. 

The final scene finds the parents alone enjoying, or rather not enjoying, a simple supper in the beachside garden in September.  The mood is unsettling.  Simon Taylor effortlessly shifts his character’s persona.  Beneath the mild eccentricity is a serious mental illness, beautifully concealed.  He must be vindicated.  Jenny’s defence of him is explained.   As the sirens wail, she must choose what to do.  This is a powerful play, well executed by all the cast.  Sitting in the round in the small studio at Questors gave me a real connection with the characters and the plot.  Their dilemma is compelling.  As the scene finished the urge to leap from my ringside seat and save them from impending doom was almost overwhelming.

Polly Davies, June 2023

Photography by Jane Arnold-Forster