REVIEW: If. Destroyed. Still. True. at The Hope Theatre

No matter where you come from or where you choose to live, the concept of home or where one identifies with throughout their lifetime is in constant flux. Moments of growth are met with moments of stagnation, people we love move at different speeds and even when some sort of peace is made, there is no way of knowing how something unexpected might unravel everything you know. In the intimate space of The Hope Theatre, Jawbones, an upcoming young company celebrating new writing, attempts to start a conversation about these feelings of disconnection in their latest production If. Destroyed. Still. True.

The play is set on the coast of Essex in a small town where everyone knows each other's business. It is here we meet John (Jack Condon) a born and bred local young man, who, like a kid on Christmas Day is revelling in the return of his best friend James (Theo Ancient) who has moved away for Uni. It becomes evident early on, however, that with little direction in his life John can't quite move on from the fun and chaos of their adolescence while James has clearly settled into his newfound academic life with a steady girlfriend Charlotte (Whitney Kehinde) by his side. A divide opens up between the two friends and each struggles with feelings of resentment, loss, a longing for the past and/or future and ultimately, the uncertainty of life becomes overwhelming for both when tragedy marks their final chapter. At the heart of the story is a friendship between two young men who have grown disparate from one another yet at the same time are forever connected by the tangled roots of their youth.