Looking Glass (New Working Group)

Lynne Ramsay's film adaptation of Lionel Shriver's much-acclaimed novel, We Need To Talk About Kevin, posed a seemingly simple yet impossibly complex question: why do good parents sometimes produce monstrous children? In that narrative, an unthinkable Sandy Hook-scale crime had been committed, and in the horrifying aftermath, homicidal Kevin's folks were the ones to atone for his wrongdoing.

Louris van de Geer's Looking Glass is cut from similar cloth, although the stakes are considerably lower. Two parents (Daniela Farinacci and Peter Houghton) are confounded by their young child's misbehaviour. He asks incessant questions, lies facedown spreadeagled on the floor, and refuses to eat his breakfast. He's sometimes insolent, sometimes withdrawn, sometimes disassociated altogether. They seek help, but this therapy is distinctly unorthodox. An ominous counsellor (Josh Price) takes control of their actions and their words, feeding lines through earpieces or using games to force interactions. He seems to toy with these unwitting lab rats, creating scenarios that only act to reinforce their anxieties. Soon it becomes clear that the issue is not with their child, but with themselves. The reason they find their parental duties so difficult to master is a glaring symptom of their terminally dysfunctional relationship.

From the outset, director Susie Dee seeks to amplify the tortuous qualities of this psychoanalytical drama. Her characters maintain a constantly simmering undercurrent of unease, their words always pointed with passive aggressive inflections. Kate Davis' design is simple yet loaded with associations. A curtain of plastic strips hangs around a boxed stage, evoking the sterile environment of a hospital, or perhaps the killing floor of a slaughter house. The lighting is stark and disorientating, the soundscape deafening and industrial; this is a place where the human mind is brutally conditioned and high-jacked. Using such bold, violent gestures, alongside the sophisticated nuances of Dee's direction, is a powerful move, keeping the tension high and pace brisk. 

The double-hinged ambiguity of this production's design can also be found in the writing. There's a Beckett-esque vibe of being in some abstract hinterland or purgatory, removed of any time or place. Without names, backstories or any other anchoring context, these characters become totems of psychological rot, reflecting the unspoken dread and frustration parents dare not utter aloud. However, this nebulous quality also robs this play of any emotional heft. With rather flimsy character development, we have little reason to feel moved by this couple's decaying connection, nor are we given any major cause for concern for their child. This is well-acted and stylish theatre, thanks to Dee's clear and compelling vision, but ultimately, the text fails to find the psychological insights it clearly reaches for.

New Working Group presents Looking Glass 'til 13 Aug at Fortyfivedownstairs.