Writer: Bjørg Vik
Director: Wiebke Green
The power of memory lies at the heart of Bjørg Vik’s prize-winning play, The Journey to Venice, but it is so long since its Norwegian author was last published in English that she is in danger of being forgotten.
Early work saw Vik launching a feminist magazine and exploring women’s rights and sexuality in much-lauded fiction. Other stories championed openness and warmth in relationships, and it is these values which are at the forefront of The Journey to Venice. As such, the play is unlikely to engrain Vik in British consciousness, but its insight into the lives of an elderly couple proves an entertaining and sometimes moving 70 minutes.
While the programme refers to the often devastating social issues faced by an ageing population, the play gives these little attention. Yes, elderly Edith (played by Annabel Leventon, who skilfully shows vulnerability behind a brave face) and her husband Oscar (Tim Hardy, who expertly shifts between levity and sensitivity) seem bewildered by the series of ever-changing home helps that arrives through their door. However, their characters are so agile that it is difficult to imagine them qualifying for support – injecting a greater level of frailty would have made more poignant the couple’s fantasy expeditions into hills and Venetian restaurants.
Nor is this an exploration of the devastating fear and frustration that can accompany dementia, a rather sanitised version of which Oscar is experiencing, as memory of past acquaintances escapes him. In fact, the play is far more concerned with enduring memory, and the pleasure the couple takes from replaying home movies and rereading favourite novels. It isn’t always gripping or entirely believable, but it is played with a conviction that makes evident the depth of the couple’s love for each other.
The flip side of memory is that trauma never leaves us. There are no long-buried secrets to be uncovered here, only glimpses of decades-old grief for the death of the couple’s only child. As their young home help (an often very funny Charlotte Beaumont) recounts the loss of her husband, it becomes evident that her grief could remain with her through a very long life.
This is familiar territory, and it is with the intergenerational comedy that Wiebke Green’s production excels, particularly the couple’s interactions with bemused but willing plumber Christopher (Nathan Welsh proving himself a very fine comic actor), who finds himself in a gondolier’s hat tucking into antipasti, whilst still clutching a replacement U-bend. It is comedy that neither mocks nor patronises the elderly but reminds us that these are complex human beings whose emotional needs must be taken seriously.
Runs until 25 March 2023
