'Narcolepsy' by Nick Gill

BT Production, Tuesday 26th February 2002 - reviewed by Henrietta Stackpole

'Narcolepsy' is an exploration of the subconscious fears we all have, and the ways in which we may focus more readily on our fabricated phobias as a way of avoiding confrontation with our real-life problems. Paul's narcoleptic illness demonstrates this throughout the play, as he falls asleep more frequently in response to an increasingly stressed environment.

So, will you drift off through this production? Not into a deep sleep, at any rate. And if you do, it is difficult to place where the fault lies.

Gill's play is at times (truly) pathetic and witty, and the actors carried these points off well. The scenes involving both female characters were the most moving, with the actresses holding the audience in the palm of their hands from their first scene together, where they form a kind of disjointed triangular chant with Paul, gazing ahead blankly as he does when in a fit, and talking to him and each other dispassionately in the ensuing scenes like morbid ghosts. Flora Milne, (Hannah), played the doe-eyed lover to a tee, portraying her character with a hint of weariness even from the beginning, which works well once we discover her attention has not been devoted to Paul the whole time. Her blasé comments were effective in depicting her unreal existence in her boyfriend's dream-world, and also amusing, as when she cuts stars disturbingly casually on her arm, and as he attempts to persuade her into giving the knife up - 'I'm using it…' she says. Lorna Beckett, who plays Paul's mother, Eve, is impressive. Her voice trembles with emotion in this scene as her character struggles to maintain the droning, bloodless dignity with which she has persevered so far, and which has resulted in such comic success.

The women are not the play's only assets, though! Sam Butler copes admirably with the task of being permanently on stage as the narcoleptic Paul, and he engages with the audience well when addressing them. The freshness of his expressions of love for Hannah when aligned with his confusion at his varying states of consciousness is also good. As for Will Tosh - a most convincing shrink! What a shame it is all an illusion and his character David is really only a friend of the family. Or is he? It is never clear whether he has had an affair with Hannah and eloped with her or not, but the situation, as usual, provides him with the classic line: 'You're not here.' 'No, well I suppose I'd better go then!', although Tosh distinguishes clearly between his capacity as a 'real' friend and dreamt shrink by moving behind and about his chair sharply at the interchange.

The overall production was good, but it was difficult to decipher what was real and what not at times, and the pace in the middle lagged - then again, both of these things may have been deliberate in order to communicate Paul's permanently semi-conscious state. Although it is never wise to overdo props, the background could also have done with a little more body than the hint of blue chair, window and goldfish bowl.

This was an interesting play, and performed well - just beware getting too confused!!