The Beach House – Park Theatre, London

With the action contained to the beach house of the title, Jo Harper’s play about female relationships receives its debut at London’s Park Theatre.

The Beach House

Sometimes, the key to a play is something that happens offstage, the nucleus around which the action forms. That is almost the case in The Beach House, which had its press night yesterday at North London’s Park Theatre. Only, this time, that nucleus comes in the form of a disembodied cry over a baby monitor.

The Beach House is a play about female relationships. Women as partners, sisters, mothers. How they define themselves against these roles. Whether they live up to their own or others’ expectations of them. As I watched the action unfold over 75 minutes, I found myself ruminating on the way that each of the three characters seems to look to motherhood as a route to unconditional love. As always, plugging this type of gap with a human proxy does not prove to be such a wise idea.

Jo Harper’s play was on the Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize shortlist, and had support from New Diorama Theatre in its development. This production takes place in the smaller of the Park Theatre’s two spaces (Winner’s Curse is currently downstairs), directed by Bethany Pitts. The Park 90 space suits the play well. The audience are confronted with the play’s emotional intimacy, watching scenes play out with a minimum of distractions from set or props.

A Laser Focus

Another thought which struck me as I watched this play was the discipline with which extraneous details are discarded. Now, this style may not be for everyone. It risks things feeling a little ungrounded. But personally I enjoyed the simplicity of it. It mostly takes place in a beach house (hence the title). Characters almost cease to exist when they step outside of this space. They go to unknown jobs or to the unseen beach, stepping back in only to advance the plot. The play is about the relationships between Kate (Kathryn Bond) and Liv (Gemma Lawrence), and Kate’s sister Jenny (Gemma Barnett, last seen by the Salterton Arts Review in Dido’s Bar). Everything else around that has been ruthlessly cut away.

The creative choices support this feeling. As I mentioned above, Cara Evans’ set design is simple. A raised wooden stage, with only the simplest of props. Overhead a panel glows with shifting colours, reflecting the ever-changing sea, or popping with fireworks. It reminded me of the excellent sympathetic use of light and colour in productions I’ve seen at the Bush Theatre: lo and behold the Lighting Designer is one and the same, Laura Howard.

Finally to come to the performances, they are excellent. Kathryn Bond in particular excels as Kate, trying to define what motherhood means to her while her relationship seems to be slipping away. She is expressive yet understated, conveying a real depth of emotion whenever she is on stage. Gemma Lawrence as Liv is a sympathetic character as she flirts (literally and figuratively) with self-destructive behaviour. And Gemma Barnett as younger sister Jenny plays a complex part well: her motivations clouded even to herself, but her desire to be seen and understood clear throughout.

All in all, The Beach House is a good pick: well acted, conveyed simply, and a compelling meditation on the fragility of female relationships.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 4/5

The Beach House on until 11 March 2023