Review: The Brink

Hey readers!
It's time for my review of The Brink.
I don't visit the Orange Tree Theatre that often, but plays like this make me realise I should. The play's storyline is: 'History teacher Nick is on the edge. A hidden secret lies under the Brink. Nick can’t get it out of his mind. A series of visions force him to investigate what lies beneath. Nick’s girlfriend doesn’t understand. Neither do his fellow teachers. Frustrated, he confides in a Year 10 student but can she be expected to have all the answers?' The play actually reminded me a lot of The Trial, which I saw at the Young Vic with Rory Kinnear last year. The play was extremely well written by Brad Birch and I would be very interested in seeing more plays written by him. The play runs an hour and 15 minutes, which I feel was a good length as it didn't drag on, but it wasn't too short either, it was just right! The lighting, special effects and sound design were fantastic, especially in the final scene. The set were a few cubes which changed colours for the different scenarios the main character faced which  were really effective. The show got better and better as it went on, as did the acting. The cast includes Ciarán Owens as Nick, Shvorne Marks as Chloe and Jessica, Vince Leigh as Martin, Mr. Boyd and a Student and Alice Haig as Jo. I was so engrossed in Nick's, the main character's, life it was easy to forget you were in a theatre. The play really portrayed how hard it is to know what the right thing to do is and the pressures of what to do when faced with the issue that people could die. The antagonists of Nick's life were all played by one person which I thought was clever and all those roles were superbly acted by Vince Leigh. Ciarán Owens gives such a strong performance and he would be great at playing the role of Josef K in The Trial. The play had some black comedy in it, which I thought was well used. One thing the play really could do with getting rid of is there is one scene between Nick and one of his friends Jo which features toilet and vomit humour. This scene went on for far too long and felt really unnecessary.

The featured star of The Brink is, drum roll please... CIARÁN OWENS!

Ciarán gives such a powerful performance that, like the play, just gets better and better. He is perfectly casted and was phenomenal, especially in the final scene.

Now for my final verdict on The Brink. I give The Brink...

The Brink will be on until the end of April, so if you think you like the sound of the show, make sure to get yourself some tickets!

Think it should have got a higher rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.

Join me next time when I will be reviewing People, Places and Things.

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer