blink

It's rare at the moment to see a piece that leaves you feeling joyous but this revival of 'Blink' does just that. I was lucky enough to be able to sit in on an early rehearsal and was sceptical, like I always am, about shows with audience participation, but as the show went on I saw how this piece grew, and meaning was conveyed by even a few moments of eye contact with audience members and soon I was on the edge of my seat watching this relationship unfold. Love is whatever you make it, and this production will be so many things to so many people.

It's clear what questions this production is asking, and I wonder if I would have felt it more pertinent watching a production of this play this year or when it was first performed ten years ago, as technology has advanced and surveillance over civilians is being increased day by day. The cluster of screens upstage, glowing with anticipation from the moment the audience is allowed into the space, instantly making you wonder about the level of observation we will arrive at during the play. This is particularly poignant at the moment when the surveillance inside the flat starts. We watch Abigail Thorn, as Sophie, perform the steps that Joe Pitts, as Jonah, describes, live, as well as on the screens behind her, which involves the audience in the sense of voyeurism that Jonah admits that he feels as well. I felt a personable responsibility in this moment, proving how effective this production is in making you question what our norm is.

A really strong sense of the world that these two characters inhabit increases as we watch, and mirrors how the two characters get closer, with props being exchanged between the two. The piece takes a round-trip between audience interaction and the presence of a fourth wall, and this journey is really naturally delivered, pulling us into a scene where they speak to each other without it being jarring. The audience relationship with these two characters almost mirrors their relationship with each other.

I did feel that some of the beautiful music we hear during this production could be employed earlier in the production to guide us and manage the tempo of the piece. Some choreography could be improved to get us hooked a little better at the right moments; Sophie's accident is slightly lost by a mismatch in timing with Thorn's reaction and the technical cue but this will be smoothed out as the run goes on. At times I was unsure who the characters were speaking to as they look at each other while saying 'he' and 'she'. It might help the piece for the company to decide and show more clearly who the audience are to these characters? In the rehearsal I sat in on, felt as though I was in the pub with two friends who had had a relationship and stayed friends after, but in the theatre this sense of intimacy was slightly lost between the delivery to audience and delivery to each other.

Whatever minor gripes I have with this production, I am incredibly glad to have seen it. Jonah's opening lines ring true in more ways than one, and the social message is really clearly conveyed through a highly personal journey between two people, but still leaves room for everyone to take what they need from it. I would whole-heartedly recommend this show; catch it at the King's Head Theatre until the 22nd March.