| 21 August 2011
Confined to a bathroom, this adaptation recasts Odysseus as Grant, a modern war veteran who, although physically at home, is not mentally there: instead he is battling the demons of his mind, in a desperate attempt to return to his wife Penny. This play is an interesting take on Homer’s original, exploring Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (a condition Grafted Cede argue is inherent within Homer’s Odyssey) with great vigor and compassion. Grant and Penny are worlds away from each other despite occupying the same bathroom for the entirety of the play. This room, in need of desperate repairs and attention becomes a metaphor for their shattered relationship. It also serves as a portal into a fantastically haunting world of demons and zombies, full of riddles and vice, which are keeping Grant from Penny.
The use of lighting and Dorie Kinnear’s incredible ability to warp herself into new characters gives this piece a sense of fluidity and dramatic intensity as the narrative flickers between reality, flashbacks and alarming hallucinations. Will Pinchin is reliable as Grant but doesn’t inhabit his character, often using clichéd gestures to convey his frustration rather than delving deep for more visceral and genuine responses. The chemistry between Kinnear and Pinchin is similarly steady. For this play to be as poignant and powerful as it could be these performers need to dig deeper.
Nobody’s Home: A Modern Odyssey, Gilded Balloon, 3-29 August (except 16th & 23rd), 1.15pm
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