Writer and Director: Andrew Muir
Stuck at home with no future in sight? Sometimes it can feel like you’re just drifting through life.
Drifting, written, directed and produced by Andrew Muir, is the latest production from ARDENT8. This company has produced work for over ten years and seeks to champion young actors and creatives from lower socio-economic backgrounds. With a cast of stellar young actors bringing their best to this production, it is such a shame that the writing lets them down.
Set in a small coastal town on the south coast, one young man, played by Trae Walsh, wants nothing more than to leave home and venture into the big bad city. But his well-meaning, but controlling parents (Toby Batt and Phoebe Woodbridge) can’t imagine anything worse. This young man is held back by his job stacking shelves, lost in a sea of unfulfilling relationships that are bound by an ever-present fog, or is it a mist, that holds back anyone from achieving their dreams.
This ensemble is joyous to watch, flitting between tight dialogue deliveries and multiple locations with ease. Lewis Allen takes a turn as a hilarious supermarket manager, while Olivia Israel gives her wide-eyed presence to an oddball arcade assistant. They really bring life to these characters.
Unfortunately, the writing does not sustain the characters, story or world for its 90-minute runtime. The standard tropes of small-town malaise are covered here, from a preternatural fear of the big city to time lost to menial jobs that become your whole life, but none of this even strives to be original. The slightly surreal tone is bolstered by an inventive set design by Bethan Wall, with sand and metal beams weaving through the Southwark Playhouse’s space, but far more could have been done to craft a world that feels both alive and distinct at the same time. So many of the scenes drag on too long and stifle any momentum that the overall piece has. A shorter runtime may give the actors less time to shine, but it would distil their moments into even tighter performances.
Drifting sadly drifts akin to its namesake, straying from moment to moment. Although the actors bring their best form to these moments, a more confident script could showcase their talents even better.
Runs until 22 November 2025
