"Euler's Circles" by Peter Norgate

Seen at the Brockley Jack Theatre on 28th August 2010

A review by Alain English

 

I was lucky enough to catch this theatre piece on it's closing night at the Brockley Jack Theatre.  I found out about it in "TimeOut" and I thought it was too vital and important to miss.

 

The story concerns Rowena (Dominique Gerrard), a young woman with Bell's Palsy, whose life is invaded by Laura (Claire Dixon), who has Asperger's Syndrome.  The two women develop a friendship of sorts before Rowena makes a decision that might seriously affect their relationship...

 

The play is well directed by Lavinia Hollands and the two central actors give very convincing performances.  Gerrard especially conveys the vulnerability of Rowena very well, as she takes tentative steps outside her comfort zone into embracing the outside world.  Claire Dixon really gets inside her character, and is a source of much comic relief, although not - it should be added - at the expense of her character's disability. 

 

The writing by Peter Norgate tries, and succeeds, in showing the characters's journeys in a gentle but uncliched fashion.  It is a welcome relief to try and show people with disabilities as being ordinary, female (a lot of the disabled characters seen on stage and screen are usually men) and trying to lead a normal life.   

 

I liked the use of cardboard boxes scattered throughout the set.  It seemed a kind of visual metaphor for how we view other people, putting labels on them and putting them in boxes.  Of course, people are always more complex than that, and this is something "Euler's Circles" does well to demonstrate. 

 

The play was put together by Constructive Interference.   They are a new theatre company begun by Lavinia Hollands, Peter Norgate and Dominique Gerrard.  Their workshops and productions look at what it means to live in an inclusive society, being inclusive of race, disability, orientation or living with a chronic condition.  You can find out more about them here on this website: http://www.constructiveinterference.co.uk.