The Other Place

Lyttelton – National Theatre, 07/10/24

Credit: Sarah Lee

Final rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Alexander Zeldin’s plays have a very favourable reputation, with his previous work at the National getting rave reviews. I now know why. In his latest, The Other Place calls itself a modern take on Sophocles’ Antigone, a Greek tragedy. In fact, at the time, Sophocles was subsequently made a general after he wrote Antigone because it was thought he had a real understanding of the workings of power…something that really comes across in this play. That said, though, you don’t need any prior knowledge of Antigone as it works entirely as a standalone piece.

The set was beautiful, featuring a giant sliding glass door, kitchen island, trees and a fence around the perimeter. The sound design was also excellent, with gradual building strings resulting in high-energy and overly loud bursts of noise – even at one point being a jump scare to help punctuate the emotions of the characters.

As the action begins, we learn that Issy’s sister, Annie, will be coming to the house, who was reluctantly invited to join this blended family scatter the ashes of the girls’ dead father. What we pretty quickly get is an image of a blended family learning how to function together. The comedy comes very naturally to the characters, with the help of some comedic passive-aggression about running out of cereal. It becomes clear Annie isn’t well or coping well with her father’s death, and the girls’ uncle – Chris – doesn’t want her coming to bring the mood down for everyone. There is, however, comic relief, in the form of Chris’ boss / neighbour, Terry, who hangs around the house and intrudes on the family’s conversations with unwanted witticisms. As the action unfolds, Chris wants to scatter the ashes at a local park while Annie wants to keep them in the house. After a series of heated arguments, Annie secretly decanters the ashes from the urn into a food bag, while Chris and the family go along unknowingly to the park. Upon his return, he banishes Annie to sleep in a tent outside, and arguments take place as the already fragile portrait of family life falls apart. By the end, we learn the real reason that Chris wanted Annie to stay away – his incestual history with her, as they both found ways to cope with the death of their father/brother. This uneasy, dark reveal had the audience literally gasping with shock. It was quite a moment.

Credit must go to the entire cast – all of which were superb. Lee Braithwaite gave Leni a very charming portrayal as the sympathetic son of Erica – played brilliantly by Nina Sosanya. Tobias Menzies was absolutely captivating as Chris, the layers to his emotional performance – from perseverance, to anger, to desperation to fear – were mesmerising. Alison Oliver (Issy) and Emma D’Arcy (Annie) played the sisters extremely convincingly – Issy came across as the classic ‘privileged student’ who moved in to the home to save some money and launch her clothing brand, while Annie gave a movingly disturbed performance as the misunderstood outcast clearly struggling to move on with her life. Plus, Jerry Killick got Terry just right, straying from the annoying to the creepy in all the right ways – and his character’s arc also gets a dark twist.

The 80 minutes absolutely zips by, and with a talented cast and visually stunning set, I have no doubt that critics will be raving about this show. A thoroughly enjoyable story, told convincingly, with a twist to keep your heart in your mouth. Make sure you Anti-go(ne).