We will all
experience grief at some point in our life.
That raw,
aching, sadness when someone we love so dearly is taken from us.
In ‘Natural
Disaster’, Roisin Gallagher expresses so clearly that feeling of loss, without
using many words.
The set, her
father’s shed, is a symbol of her dying dad. It is wonky, lopsided, full of
holes and susceptible to storm damage.
And the
storm comes.
The storm,
symbolising his illness, is so howling, so terrifying; it’s like a scene from a
horror movie.
Roisin, on
her knees, writing in the soil, is trying to remember everything about her dad
before the storm takes the shed.
Descriptions
of how he looks are narrated over the loud speaker using sound effects that are
both hypnotic and eerie.
His coat,
his trousers, his hat – are hung on pegs, as though to represent that her dad
is still standing there with her.
His welly
boots, a symbolic representation of his hard-working, sturdy stature, feature
throughout.
And mid-way,
a tiny welly boot is produced, an inkling that there is another character in
this story.
The storm
progresses. The rain beats down heavily on the shed; the storm is battering her
father.
She rushes
around, trying to prevent the damage. She uses plant pots to try to catch the
leaking water. But the flood rises and rises and rises – until suddenly, she is
drowning. Drowning in her grief.
Using
physical theatre, fantastic sound effects and lighting, Gallagher depicts this
drowning scene to perfection. And in that murky darkness, I can feel her pain.
I can feel her despair. I know how horrendous she must have felt in her grief.
And then, we
hear a recording of her late father’s voice. I feel a tear spring to my eye and
roll down my cheek. Then more tears as we sit with Roisin and listen to those
recordings – those fragments of time spent with her father that she wanted to
document; for fear of forgetting.
We are led
to a memory of the funeral – her standing there; tray of sandwiches in each
hand, listening to the clichéd platitudes of those attending. ‘Great service,
at least he’s at peace, do you want an egg and onion sandwich, yes the flights
are very expensive at this time of the year’ – All those empty, meaningless
words when actually her face is saying ‘I’m grieving, I’m in agony, I don’t
care about fecking egg and onion sandwiches’.
She is ‘shocked’,
‘shocked’, ‘shocked’ – punctuated by gun-shot sounds and sharp body movements.
The sound, design and physicality of this piece allows Roisin to express her
grief in a way which words can’t. Perhaps that’s why there’s such a limited
script.
The shed represents
her grief – sitting in it, lying in it, screaming in it, and then eventually
walking away.
The child’s
tiny welly boot makes a re-appearance – reminding us of the circle of life.
There’s a little one to look after. There are giggles; cuteness; a smile on her
face; a reason to put on her heels and try to walk on.
'Natural Disaster' by Roisin Gallagher was performed in The MAC, Belfast on 15 - 16 March 2019
Tinderbox Theatre Company
Writer & performer - Roisin Gallagher
Director - Patrick J O'Reilly
Producer - Jen Shepherd
Set & Lighting Designer - Ciaran Bagnall
Sound Designer - Isaac Gibson
Stage Manager - Seana Green
Set Construction - Matthew Forsythe
