The Other Room tackles the heavy topics of mortality and end-of-life care. A challenging and sensitive subject which is handled with great compassion and grace by writer Sarah Rickman and director Bellaray Betrand-Web.
Set around the kitchen island of Grace (played by Rickman) and her terminally ill husband Chris’ home, the space feels alive and energetic. But just out of sight, to the edge of the stage, is the room where bedbound Chris is lying. Chris is in limbo, not on stage but through a voice-over and much coughing, not absent either. While Chris is suspended in this transit, so too are all those close to him. The Other Room is about liminality and those complex moments of in-between states: life fading to death, happiness twisting against sadness, gratitude despite grief.
The other member of this two-hander is Tolu Kingba as Themba. Chris has secretly hired a professional carer, Themba, to assist during his final months. As the play unfolds, the line between whether Themba is there to support Grace or Chris blurs.
Rickman and Kingba both act extremely well, but for a play with such harrowing and heartbreaking themes, they are too level-headed. This I can forgive from Kingba as his character demands an air of professionalism, which he does occasionally let slip at the necessary moments. However, Rickman presents Grace as exceedingly robust and even-tempered for someone losing their husband. When Themba is going to have an interview with his future client, this façade cracks as Grace implores, “You go and meet your next corpse to be.” This is the only time that Grace’s dialogue is sharp-tongued, but there needs to be more friction in Rickman’s characterisation of Grace to convey her anguish and inner turmoil.
EJ Walker’s sound design for this play is magnificent. Whether that is coughing, doorbells, melancholic music or the secret conversations happening out of sight, it is vital for keeping the plot moving and adds depth and texture to the play. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the lighting design, which is rudimentary by comparison.
The Other Room claims to be funny, but unfortunately this did not come through for me. While occasionally I offered a tender chuckle, this was as a human reaction of social bonding from seeing another person try to find joy despite pain, rather than Rickman’s writing being particularly charismatic.
The best part of Rickman’s writing is the threads of optimism that bind Grace and Themba’s lives together. Both are in a moment of stasis, waiting for this chapter to close so that they can begin to live again. Fulfilling dreams and building new connections is the unexpected highlight of The Other Room.
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