Writer: Martha Reed
Director: Gwenan Bain
Where do we come from? What are we doing here? How will the universe end? And in the meantime, if all life ends in death, is there any point?
Such weighty questions are borne lightly by Martha Reed’s charming two-hander Existential Fish & Dread, which sees Nigel Fyfe’s Martin having an existential crisis in an aquarium, triggered by the death earlier that day of Sir Stephen Hawking.
Luckily, the worker he runs into is the bubbly Ellie (Natalie Durkin), currently working there to pay the bills while she completes an astrophysics PhD and whose work centres on the origins of the universe. A huge coincidence, of course, but as Reed’s script points out, such serendipity is only notable because we ignore all the other times where coincidences do not happen.
As the pair discuss weighty thoughts about the existence (or otherwise) of God, whether the universe will end in another Big Bang or in slow, inexorable death as its constituent parts separate, Reed and director Gwenan Bain keep the pace up and the mood, for the most part, light. This allows moments of genuine pathos – such as Martin talking about the wife he lost to cancer – to really hit home.
On occasion the discourse does show signs of wandering into Socratic dialogue, where the philosophical contents of the conversation can overshadow character. Such concerns are counteracted somewhat by Durkin’s effervescent nature. Fyfe has more work to do to make the introverted, morose Martin elevate Reed’s writing in quite the same way, but together the actors bounce off each other well.
As for the big questions, there are no answers available, so Reed offers us none in this slickly paced piece. Instead, we are offered the possibility that, due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, we may never be able to arrive at any answers. But that should not stop us looking, for the exploration of big ideas – much like this play – is worthwhile in itself.
Continues until 16 February 2022
The Reviews Hub Score
Big ideas explored in charming style
