Writer: Harry Butler
Director: Anthony Biggs
Sorry You Felt That Way is an original contemporary play of a “whose say is it anyway?” I wanted a glass of prosecco and a fluffy pig while watching this performance as some hard hitting questions involving guilt, love and commitment are shot across the space.
Imagine winding down after a long day in your boyfriend Adam’s (Harry Butler) flat that you have literally just moved into, while he is out at the cinema with some friends, when suddenly his ex, Eloise (Chloe O’Reilly), comes in unannounced with a bag of his old clothes and a lot of emotional baggage. She accuses Adam of being abusive, warning you, from experience, about his toxic patterns of behaviour, swearing the same will happen again. This is the emotional rollercoaster Emma (Hannah Brady) goes on two months after her father passed away leaving her in a vulnerable situation which is obviously not benefited by the aftermath of this confrontation. She ends up forcing Eloise out of the flat but when Adam returns with a bottle of bubbly and a toy pig, and begins to physically move things out of place she can’t help but question his motives. With the energy in the room, it seemed the audience anticipated a physically climatic event or screaming match which was replaced by a verbally intense discussion on how people change and how we take accountability for our actions and challenge the guilt from such. The space and energy is handled extremely well as Butler and Brady take turns psychoanalyzing each other on their emotions and past regrets.
Butler has written a thought piercing piece that shows the darker side of relationships with regards to toxic behaviour and anxiety of consequences and reactions. The design of the show is minimal with a couch, rug and stool filling the space that the audience surrounds.
There are immensely strong performances by all of the cast with clear characteristic differences regarding physicality, mannerisms and tone. Acknowledgement should go to Brady who handles Emma’s emotional rollercoaster of constant confrontation and defence beautifully while being on stage for the majority of the performance. The string of tension between Brady and O’Reilly at the beginning of the play is handled very well with steady circling movements and unwavering eye contact. O’Reilly has a great grasp of Eloise’s objections and very much suits the anxious, awkward character. Butler has great chemistry with each character he engages with, he projects a seemingly unlikeable character but one who is aware of his mistakes and shows potential to better his actions. Whether this lightens the unlikability is uncertain.
The play worked well in the 80 minute time frame. Not once did the audience take their eyes from the stage and they received a well rounded perception of the characters and their opinions so as not to make any hasty assumptions. There were some briefly mentioned yet very valid points about the modern day media’s influence on our perception of relationships, which given the societal context of the play could have been interesting to expand on. If you see this play at the right time in your life it could certainly tug on some heart strings. It is a very well-written insight into a young couple revisiting the boundaries and foundation of their relationship while addressing queries such as the act of sex being transactional and how much do we wish to know about our partner, and what we wish we didn’t.
