Review: The Cord at the Bush Theatre
A painstakingly truthful take on unflinching family dynamics
As the longer summer nights draw the Bush Theatre's 2024 spring season to a close, Bijan Sheibani return to one of West London's creative hubs to direct the world premiere of his intriguingly-titled play The Cord.
Filing into the Holloway Theatre, the larger of two performance venues at the Bush, what possibly caught many in the audience by surprise was how the intimate space is very much a fitting connection right from the moment the house lights dim. What awaits, is 80 minutes of unfiltered emotion poured into one couple, one mother and one cellist.
Set between the homes of Ash and Anya, a couple with a newborn and their parents miles away, the piece opens with a familiar scene (for many) of first-time parents holding their baby with both wonder and exhaustion; what started out as a quickfire conversation between Ash (Irfan Shamji) and his mother Jane (Lucy Black), as well as his wife Anya (Eileen O’Higgins) gradually progresses to fill the air with unspoken tension. With restless nights and long drives home from Jane's are heated arguments and increasing distress among all three, which eventually culminates in an utterly desperate outcry.
Pacing back and forth on Samal Blak's plain, carpeted canvas, the trio face unflinching confrontations about their past and present, delivered with such emotional grip by all three that one can't help but wholeheartedly connect with Sheibani's exquisitely crafted characters.
The production design plays a major role in world-building, too: the in-the-round staging is cleverly both literal and metaphorical traps for each character's own emotional roller-coaster; while Oliver Fenwick's ambient lighting design (from a suspended cyclorama-like installation spanning the area of the stage) propels intense conflicts in one moment and hones in on the raw outpour in another. Albeit detached from the character arcs, Colin Alexander's intermittent original cello compositions set the undertone to the plot development, echoing the abstract yet forceful movement by Aline David - all of the above a testament to the profound impact effective collaboration between book writer and designers can achieve.
Whilst the pacing can admittedly feel dragged at certain scenes scattered across the piece, there is no doubt that the night concludes with many's hearts touched as Ash, Anya and Jane navigates acceptance and reconnects the painstaking cord.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ (4*)
The Cord is playing at the Bush Theatre until 25 May. More information and tickets available here.
Tickets and Accessibility
🎟️ Tickets were kindly gifted by the venue. All views are my own, without any input or approval from the venue or producers. Count Me In and Standard Tickets are available from £15, with concessions for members and access customers.
♾️ There are no loud noises or lights that point towards the audience. Some lights flicker at certain points throughout the show but no strobe is used.