Milly Thomas’s Brutal Cessation is at The George Square Box under the direction of Bethany Pitts, and is an interesting exploration of a topical theme. Utilising expressive movements and music to conjure up the feeling of foreboding, and dark undertones.
There is no real structure to the plot, it involves a couple who have been involved in an abusive relationship, and now they are dissecting the events that led up to the destruction of that relationship. The scenes are presented in fragments, which gather in pace, but most interestingly several scenes are replayed, but with the roles reversed.
Staging is used quite effectively in the confined George Square Box, the setting feeling appropriate for the confinement felt within the relationship. The cast wear comfortable clothes giving the false impression they are at ease with each other, while numerous props emerge from a small white box at the back of the stage. Plastic sheeting is required for some of the messier scenes.
Brutal Cessation does fall in to that trap of a two-hander, where one character simply repeats what the other character has said in question form. This happens far too often in this play, and it makes the dialogue which is already quite difficult to follow even more laborious.
The performers, Alan Mahon and Lydia Larson do give impressively intense performances, which allows us to at least connect with the characters, even if we don’t always grasp what is happening. The dialogue shouldn’t be that important here, the key message is the abusive relationship and the differences between perceptions of the sexes, but we do need something to follow.
Brutal Cessation is an interesting concept, especially the role reversal, which forces you to think carefully about your initial perceptions. The cast do well and it is staged nicely, but overall it does fail to fully convey the important message it has set out to deliver.
