M nemonic
Patience
“Who would you choose?”
These are the last, heart-wrenching words uttered in Patience,
the student production which followed the stories of two
liver disease patients (played by Alice Thompson and Juliet
Boobbyer) and the struggle of one junior doctor (Aarti Jalan)
to choose which one should receive a life-giving donation.
The play asks the question: how do you value one human
life over another? How can you choose who lives, and who
dies? Who deserves the liver donation; is it alcoholic Bethan
or teenaged Sophie? These questions are carefully and
thoughtfully dealt with, although never quite answered;
by the end, it is the audience who are left with the
unanswerable choice.
This choice was made even harder through winning
performances. Juliet’s masterful portrayal of Bethan was raw
and touching – from shyly explaining to Sophie her former
career as a high-profile songwriter, to her last, stirring voicemail
to her ex-girlfriend. Meanwhile, Alice Thompson’s depiction of
a wilful, headstrong teenage girl (based on a true story) was
both tender and forceful – from her stubborn refusal to take
her medication, to her gentler moments with her boyfriend
(whose well-meaning sweetness was nicely captured by
Matthew Judge).
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DRAMA REVIEW
Aarti Jalan’s performance as the pressurised, empathetic junior
doctor, Ava, was excellent – her struggle to choose whose
life to save, and to balance the pressures of life and work,
were well illustrated. She was complemented by Seb Imas’s
Robbie, Ava’s best friend who provided well-timed moments
of comic relief for both Ava and the audience. Meanwhile,
Freya Hall excellently doubled up as both Sophie’s mother and
Bethan’s socialite emergency contact – two nicely contrasted
performances which showed how disease impacts everyone
involved in it.
The play was innovatively staged, placing the audience right
at the centre of the action and moving swiftly through space
and time. Ollie Higham’s special effects complemented the
action, as did Naqib Rahman and Jack Marsch’s gorgeous
original score. Overall the play encapsulated everything there
is to be enjoyed about drama at Sevenoaks – innovation,
individuality, creativity, and above all an enthusiasm to engage
with important questions.
Izzy Ormonde, Upper Sixth
Patience was performed by the Sackville Theatre Company
at the 2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
SEVENOAKS SC
CH
HOOL 2016-2017
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