A recovering alcoholic being drawn to a renaissance artist in her dreams, an anxiety riddled Berlin super-fan who spends more time checking the flights to Germany than getting off the sofa. Nat and Gordon live together in their small, messy flat. They are completely co-dependent and completely toxic, not that either of them realise it. The play takes place in one room — their living room — where Gordon remains on the sofa for almost the entirety of the play, hidden under a blanket with only his feet poking out.
You’re sucked into their secluded space, that very few people enter or leave, brought to life by actors Jem Hunter and Trixie Smith so well that the air almost felt thick with emotion. Gordon (played by Hunter) brought a monotonous, laid-back humour that contrasted with Nat’s excitement for life’s opportunities. While Gordon is plagued by an inability to actually chase his dreams, Nat struggles with loneliness and longs for a community she can support through her brewery ‘Brew Hill.’ Gordon, however, is so obsessed with the concept of Berlin (not really the place, the version of it he’s created in his mind), that he doesn’t realise this was Nat’s cry for help. She was the one who needed support. Nat’s loneliness is realised in her ‘visions’ of painter Pieter Brueghel’s artwork, and the peasant community he paints that she becomes part of in her dreams.
Brew Hill was extremely funny, despite the topics seeming harsh and hard hitting. What it was trying to tell us — I’m not quite sure. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this fifty minute dark comedy. I found Hannah Wiseman’s character Kirsty particularly funny, and also extremely helpful for understanding Nat and Gordon as people outside of their complicated relationship. The final scene was truly hard hitting: Nat and Gordon made me realise how important it is to chase your dreams.
Brew Hill is running until 29 August at thespace @ Surgeon’s Hall. Buy tickets here.
Image by Sophie Sitwell, provided as press material.
