Theatre Review: "An Almost Perfect Thing" Delivers what the Title Suggests
Do you need another little something to keep you awake at night? Do you enjoy peering into the darkest parts of your psyche and turning on the light? Sure you do! And you can do all thisand more communally in a dark room with other crazies who love the same things you do at the Blue Room Theatre's An Almost Perfect Thing; an almost perfect combination of plot driven mind folly and uncannily human characterisation.
Chloe (played with poise by Daisy Coyle), an eighteen year old girl who has recently returned after being abducted for seven years, is asked to tell her story to has-been journo Greg (depicted with tenacity Andrew Hale). While this is a seemingly simple premise, there is one catch- she refuses to reveal the identity of her captor (brought to life in unsettling terms by Nick Maclaine), leaving everyone asking: why?
From the start, the audience recognises they are in for a mental roller-coaster of immense proportions. I would not recommend this to anyone lacking a mind like a steel trap (or alternatively, a medieval fortress). Under director Gabrielle Metcalf, the work is driven by actors who mastered the three oddly neurotic counterparts; Chloe, Greg, and Mathew, the abductor. Embodied superbly, they are all startlingly human but slightly 'off', to put it lightly. Each character is a labyrinth of twists and turns, and with each turn the audience is compelled further into their dark and menacing minds, full of greed and ulterior motives. As time progresses, it is hinted that the victim may be more like her captor than she seems. Despite strong similarities in their borderline psychopathic natures, the actors balance a uniqueness to each character, whether it be in the way they twitch on certain lines, shift their eyes or change tone at the drop of a hat.
This is a tale of truth and the way to get to it; through the deepest depths of the mind where there is only shadows, and back. If you’re ready to teeter on the edge of your seat with the insatiable hunger of suspense, now is your time. Runaway and go see this show.