Vincent in Brixton, Nicholas Wright’s award-winning 2002 play, is remounted at The Orange Tree, with an exceptional cast living within a beautiful design. As Orange Tree is in the round, the design positions us as the walls of the kitchen; within this kitchen, are a fully working stove and sink with running water. The cast prepare food, and aromas fill the air, lingering like subtext.
The performers are all strong, notably Niamh Cusack as Mrs Loyer, whose subtle shifts in emotion are exquisite to watch. The company as a whole fill the space with life beautifully, several of the company making their professional debuts with this production. Jeroen Frank Kales in particular stands out with a delightful performance as Vincent, someone I will definitely watch for in future.
While the design was beautiful, and the performances strong, I do wonder why this play, now. While it deals with issues contemporary to today — in particular loneliness and depression — it focussed more on the love story, and indeed didn’t even acknowledge those darker topics with support materials in the programme, I noted. While the production was good, I do feel it missed an opportunity to connect with the current moment in a more meaningful way.