Maggie Ollerenshaw and Alistair McGowan in 4000 Days. Photo: Rory Lindsay 4000 Days
19 January 2015
3 Stars
When Michael wakes up from a coma to a ten-year memory loss, his long-term partner Paul appears to him a total stranger. As Paul desperately tries to save their relationship, Michael’s disapproving mother Carol grasps the opportunity to oust him from their lives forever.
Peter Quilter’s script is spiced with sarcasm and bouts of wit that get loud laughs from the audience, however the comedy perches awkwardly on the edge of big themes that remain undercooked.
Alistair McGowan is entertaining as Michael; the human rope in this tug of war, yet he seems oddly non-committal as he watches the ends fray in severe competition.
Maggie Ollerenshaw is relentless as his overbearing mother, who is delighted for the opportunity to claim her son back as the flamboyant artist he was before Paul “painted him beige”. She represents the disappointment of a life that has sacrificed art for a more comfortable living, yet she offers hints of homophobia that muddies her motives.
Alistair McGowan and Daniel Weyman in 4000 Days. Photo: Rory Lindsay
Daniel Weyman is attentive as the doting partner, yet the chemistry between the lovers falls short of electric and fails to persuade us that their love must triumph.
Michael tries to reclaim his pre-Paul ambitions by painting the wall of his hospital room, and in doing so reverts to a childlike state that is endearing and humorous if not overtly adolescent. This colourful mural of his past offers a poignant backdrop to the underwhelming grey of reality, and Paul’s admittance that their love was “no more than reasonable companionship”.
Unfortunately, by the time Michael starts to remember their relationship, the audience has forgotten who they’re backing. Strangely enough, it is Ollerenshaw as sardonic and bitter Carol who implores our sympathy when she claims “we mothers always get left behind”.
Quilter offers us a glimpse of the laboured subject of amnesia, but the memory of it may fade.
4000 Days runs at the Park Theatre until 13 February 2016. Book Now.
Jessica Wretlind studied English and pursued acting before realising her dream to write and direct theatre. Her career has seen her as a stage manager in the West End, company manager at the Edinburgh Fringe and a critic both in London and at the Fringe. She is now directing an original play that starts its UK tour in April, and wants to continue reviewing theatre to keep her inspired by the diversity of the form.
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