Writer: Jun Noh
Director: Joanna Rosenfeld
Jun Noh writes and stars in his short play, Things Between Heaven and Earth, now showing at the Camden Fringe. Its publicity is enticing: ‘Imagine discovering that your friend’s novel was all about your late husband’s affair and murder…’, ‘A psychological thriller with echoes of The Talented Mr Ripley’. It’s useful to have Ripley name-checked: it gives us something to hang onto when the plot becomes particularly opaque.
May, played with appealing cheerfulness by Marina Hata, is getting her modest London flat ready to welcome old friend Eric. They had briefly been an item before Eric came out and May married their mutual friend, Harry. It is now ten years since Harry’s mysterious death. In the intervening time, May and Eric have never been in touch. May has bought the eponymous Things Between Heaven and Earth, the latest book by now-successful-novelist, Eric. Her copy bristles with post-it notes: she has evidently been decoding the autobiographical sections.
Eric appears and starts stalking round the room, occasionally slicking back his hair. He responds to questions by staring out at the audience in silence for uncomfortable seconds before answering. He’s a model of wooden acting. Is this the point? Is Noh satirising the vanity of popular writers? At Eric’s book launch fielding questions, Noh plays the more genial, media-friendly version of him. Is this the Ripley character, we wonder?
There follows a lot of undigested material relating to the play’s themes. Eric reads out a long chunk of James Joyce and explains some tricksy points in Roman Catholic theology about the place between heaven and hell. Limbo or purgatory? It’s not really explained. We aren’t told what May has been up to in the ten years, but she has clearly developed some issues with sexuality and gender.
Eric and May bond, then row, then bond again, then row. He is adamant she shouldn’t be dating her new beau – Eric’s one-time flatmate, Darren, with whom he now admits he once had an affair. He confesses to a whole lot more, including his affair with her husband. This is not a spoiler alert: the publicity has spelled this out. The conclusion of the play is baffling.
Joanna Rosenfeld does her best directing the material. But one feels that it’s Noh who insists on the ponderous pace and stilted acting.
Runs until 6 August 2024, then at Edinburgh Fringe
Camden Fringe runs until 25 August 2024
