Writer: Cindy Lou Johnson
Director: Penny Gkritzapi
Written in the late 80’s by Cindy Lou Johnson, Brilliant Traces is a play about two people desperate to escape the world but find themselves trapped with the only person who might just understand them.
Set in a remote cabin in the Alaskan wilderness, we open on a sleeping Henry (Michael Feldsher) whose slumber is interrupted by frantic knocking at his front door, soon followed by Rosannah (Sam Kamras) bursting through it, wearing a wedding dress complete with lace veil and satin shoes. She brings with her a wild energy which burns blindingly fast before Henry’s still bleary eyes, and as suddenly as she arrived, she collapses, from exhaustion. Henry does what anyone else would do and looks after her as best he can, but as he does so, the walls he’s built around his own castle come tumbling down.
Johnson’s writing perfectly encapsulates each character’s turmoil. Each of them is unsettled, unhinged, and unsure of themselves and the world around them, summed up beautifully by Rosannah who describes herself as “hovering looking for a place to land”.
Both leads are fantastic, each committing the energy and intensity the play requires with excellent chemistry and variety of pace and tone. The play is peppered with numerous monologues and emotional set pieces, which ask a lot of them, but on every occasion, they are more than equal to it.
In the wrong hands there are plenty of pitfalls this play could fall into, but Penny Gkritzapi’s direction ensures that’s not the case. Also, with the audience sat on two adjacent sides of the stage, the venue poses blocking challenges too, but again, these are overcome without a problem.
The fact that this show was written 30 years ago does nothing to diminish its impact – if anything, the last couple of years has rendered it even greater. This is eMPhasis Theatre Company’s first production, and if this is the standard they stick to, they’ll be one to watch out for in future. It’s an excellent example of fringe theatre in a fantastic venue.
Runs until 9 April 2022
