Writer and Director: Tom A. Wells
The Departure – written over five years by Tom A. Wells, who also stars – although presented here as a Work in Progress is clearly in the latter stages of its development.
Set in one room in a flat in London over the course of 80 minutes of real-time, the piece moves between comic beats, charged emotions, and tender connection seamlessly. Themes of loss, abandonment, mental health, parent-child relationships, nepotism and professional ambition are all linked through a meeting of two strangers and their ensuing conversation. Wells (playing Ross) and Harriet Chomley (playing Lily) run the gamut of the human psyche with dexterity, and these actors leave nothing in the dressing room. Over the course of their time together two characters from very different backgrounds help each other – often unwittingly or unwillingly – break down defensive barriers and come to terms with their different traumas, discovering they may have more in common than either would have expected.
The two-person script deftly plays with a constant shift of conversational control between the pair. It also cleverly builds other characters into the backgrounds of the two protagonists, helping the audience to understand how each has become the person they are. Wells has honed the script well – 80 minutes of drama can sound daunting to an audience, and feel like a long time to sit through, but with this piece feels just right. Surely as with any writer he will still be looking for fat to trim, though based on this performance the cut is about as lean as it needs to be and delivers a perfect flavour.
The Departure is now headed for a five-night run in London and your reviewer is confident this won’t be the last the world sees of it.
Reviewed on 11 September 2026
