23.5 Hours
06 September 2024
Park Theatre
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
The Park Theatre is currently running 23.5 Hours until 5th October, an intense play about love and loyalty.
Leigh has a comfortable life that she is very happy with, still smitten with her husband Tom and proud mum to teenager Nicholas. But when high school teacher Tom is accused of misconduct with one of his young students, her life begins to unravel. Trying to shield her son from the onslaught of hatred, holding the fort during her husband’s imprisonment, and trying to come to terms with own doubts about his innocence, she’s facing uphill battles all around.
The play is intensely emotional, walking a fine line by only mentioning the accusations peripherally, never going into detail of what Tom was accused of or what lead to his ultimate conviction, rather focussing on the impact on Leigh, trying to believe in her husband’s innocence while faced with vitriol from the public and accusations from close friends. It is never quite made clear what actually happened and whether Tom is truly guilty, which really aids the intensity and impact of the play. Rather, we are presented with arguments and discussions from defenders and detractors, occasionally quite aggressively but always with balance and great insights. Snippets of the accusations and the public’s reaction are woven into the plot, but never truly focussed on.
The play feels casual, slice of life, while disconnected scenes bring dark revelations that lead to deep discussions between the characters.
23.5 Hours is a great example of how to construct an impactful, conversation starting play about a difficult topic without painting either side into a corner, and really leaving the conclusion open to each individual theatre goer. Personally, I thought the very last scene was unnecessary and didn’t serve the play very well, eradicating doubt almost entirely. The impact would have been stronger if it had ended with a more nebulous, open end for which each patron could have come to their own conclusions as to what they think happened. Still, it is a very strong production that is only hindered by occasional over-acting, and leaves a lasting impact on the audience.
