Lucy Black

The first cut is the deepest.

The initial impact of Lucy Black is the language. Paul Gilchrist has set his story in Elizabethan England and his five characters speak in the mode of their times. The language is beautiful and flows easily from the actors, and Is straightforward enough for the audience to understand and connect with. Listening to this unfamiliar language keeps us on our toes as we navigate this metaphysical tale.

The story principally deals with the carnal verses the spiritual world and how experimental dissection may provide a means for discovering the soul within. It’s a dark journey of discovery from the outer to the inner world. The five characters each represent an aspect of the outer carnal world. The butcher is the most exaggerated of these, wanting to discover what lies within through the most brutal means. The lovers demonstrate both carnal lust and romantic passion. Lucy herself is a spirit adrift in a carnal world.

The narrative is somewhat mysterious, but filial bonds, love, passion, lust, food, poisons and butcher’s knives all play significant roles. The play elevates its emotional tone, like music, thanks to the language, motion and the songs, as the tensions rise and passions spill over. The songs, beautifully sung by Heidi Lupprian, lead us from scene to scene and provide a clever means of transitioning.

The production does suffer from somewhat uninspired lighting, a bland set and low levels of physical movement.

The acting performances are varied, although, stand out performances come from Richard Hilliar, who is menacing and thrilling as the butcher (think, Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York) wanting to discover what lies beneath the skin. Zara Zoe is gorgeous and passionate as one of the lovers.

See this play to experience the beauty of Elizabethan language that was not written by Shakespeare or Marlowe.

Stephen Carnell