Two short plays: Escaped Alone and What If If Only, both penned by Caryl Churchill, are currently playing at Royal Exchange, Manchester. Two of her more recent works, the pieces are thematically related, concentrated and intense. Void of unnecessary dialogue, Churchill’s works are boiled down and simmered to perfection.

Beginning with 2016’s Escaped Alone, a square of artificial grass sits in the centre of the performance space, with garden furniture placed at each corner. Rose Revitt’s focussed design makes great use of the roundness of the adaptive space, leaving the characters physically and emotionally open to the audience, their thoughts completely graspable. At a mere hour in length, it packs unexpected punch. Blending everyday conversation with apocalyptic visions, Sarah Frankcom’s expert direction provides a seasoned collection of actors the freedom to become fully-absorbed in Churchill’s fragmented, poetic social commentary- a turn which shouldn’t feel so progressive, and yet it still does. In a suburban English garden, elder members of society Vi (Annette Badland), Lena (Souad Faress) and Sally (Margot Leicester) are enjoying tea and light conversation when a jittery Mrs Jarrett (Maureen Beattie) enters. Their gentle, yet complex, chatter is juxtaposed with Mrs Jarrett’s increasingly nightmarish visions of global catastrophe, social collapse and grotesque suffering. Each character is presented with their allotted time to delve deeper into their own personal constructs. Themes of depression, abuse and intense phobia are depicted through layers of realism and intensity, the like rarely seen so succinctly within such a limited timeframe; interspersed with moments of much needed blitheness, it makes it all that much more impactful. Truly an ensemble piece, the expert cast unites to untangle the complexities of Churchill’s incredibly tight script; where an actor may stumble on a word, it is handled with the poise and skill which only comes with those who have mastered their craft.

In a visually stunning moment of transition, the stage is set for the second play of the evening. Intertwined through the exploration of the fragility of the human existence and the disjointed nature of time and reality, 2021’s What If If Only comes in at a brief thirty minutes.  Someone (skilfully played with turbulent energy by Danielle Henry) is hot in the centre of a grief spiral and must encounter the possibilities of the Future (once again sublimely portrayed by Badland.) Battling the ideology of changing the past and spear-heading destinies, the play compliments its counterpart wonderfully.
Further interweaving the two pieces, sound/composition and lighting design by Nicola T. Chang  and Bethany Gupwell respectively add unique visual and sonic layers which resonate through each play. Giving a voice not just to the one but to the many, it is powerful to see the stage flooded with the Royal Exchange Elders.

The true joy of the evening, though, is in the niggling questioning which lingers on after each play. Both exquisitely delivered by a stunningly talented cast, each infiltrates the psyche and leaves behind a satisfying haze of wonderment, ready to be explored further.

Escaped Alone & What If If Only run until Saturday 8th March at Royal Exchange. Further information and booking can be found here.

Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review.

Photography by Johan Persson.