The first thing that strikes you about Night Bench is how faithfully the two characters, playing old women with absurdly exaggerated proportions, resemble cartoon characters in the style of Monty Python's Terry Gilliam.
Then comes the quiet and measured humour from artful mannerisms and the often witty script as they share memories that collide with anticipation and hopes for the future. Finally a sense of the ridiculous overlays the whole performance as the two women shuttle between doleful frailty and youthful slap-stick.
Night Bench, performed by Lily Sykes and Hannah Pyliotis, explores the need for companionship, the dread of loneliness, and the power of hope. It is visually rewarding, with almost as much emphasis on unspoken expression as the spoken word, and uses simple but effective sound effects and props. The genteelness of Lily Sykes' character, Bascha, contrasts with Hanah Pyliotis' robust character, Vascha, and this dissonance is sustained throughout the performance. It is an amusing commentary, taughtly directed by Michiko Miyazaki Gaulier who, with the two players devised and wrote the imaginative piece. The pace is at times a little slow, but will sharpen up with exposure to more live audiences during its run at Camden, and can expected to go down well at the Edinburgh Fringe later this year.
Merrily Powell
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