As We Face the Sun – Bush Theatre, London

Writer: Kit Withington

Director: Katie Greenall and Lynette Linton

The Bush Theatre’s latest production from its Young Companies, As We Face the Sun, is a smart and meaningful meditation on grief, friendship and the slow process of disconnection from a childhood self. Running at a slightly over-extended 90 minutes and with some free tickets available, Kit Withington’s play considers the immediate and long-term impact of trauma on a group of classmates, and is particularly strong in creating a feeling of absence that variously affects each member of the group and the collective experience.

An exciting winter trip in 2013 spells tragedy for one class whose lives are never quite the same. Told repeatedly “You have your whole lives ahead of you,” the phrase starts to feel meaningless as they try to find a way ahead without their friend.10 years on they gather once more, an annual party that they all look forward to, but this year, it is harder to maintain the pretence that they are the same people they were at 15.

Withington’s play, directed by Katie Greenall and Lynette Linton, is bursting with energy, filled with impulsive chatter, dance, fun and plenty of innocent hope for the future. The creation of the teenagers is very accomplished, and although there are lots of characters, each has a distinct personality and trajectory, contributing to the feeling of communal experience across the piece while also getting a moment in the limelight. And the interlocking tragedy is extremely well managed, a great basis for theatre as well as wondering what it means when life changes in an instant, considering its consequences at different points in time as well as its complex outcomes from depression and anxiety to survivor’s guilt.

But As We Face the Sun is overwritten, extending scenes a little too long to give sufficient space to each character; so where two or three illustrative conversations at the reunion party would be enough to demonstrate the crippling small talk that defines the group drifting apart, Withington includes six or seven. Likewise, later in the show, a euphoric dance runs for what feels like several minutes rather than the 30 seconds the audience really needs to make those connections. The play could be tightened up and reduced to a slightly more impactful 60-70 minutes, but it would require a sacrifice in character time or volume.

Performed by the Bush Theatre Young Companies, this is a talented and diverse cast with huge enthusiasm for the stage. From Maymuna Abdi’s Whitney who is the first to become a mum to Louis Nicholson’s Jacob who wants everything to be just so and Jordan Haynes singer/dancer Michael, these are layered performances that distinguish between the emotional and hopeful teenagers before and after the tragedy, as well as between their 15 and 25-year-old selves, modifying behaviours, reactions and physicality in their interpretations.

Greenall and Linton direct with verve, marshalling but never stifling the energy of the actors or the large-scale portraits they create of young adults on the cusp of becoming but also losing something vital. As the group divides and subdivides in their reactions, how to move on and who they should feel even more enormous when facing so much life ahead of them.

Runs until 26 August 2023