Why this piece of Driftwood has been crafted into a work of art - Review at Chichester's Minerva Theatre

It’s very easy for siblings to drift apart – both emotionally and physically – only to be reunited by the death of a parent.

Tim Foley’s play has no interval and runs for just one hour and 20 minutes. The cast comprises two actors, James Westphal and Jerome Yates as the brothers Mark and Tiny.

As their father lies dying, the brothers reunite on the shore of Seaton Carew in the North East of England.

Tiny had remained living at home, their father’s carer, while Mark had moved away and carved a new life for himself. Their view of the world, of each other, and most notably of their father, is significantly different.

This then, is a complex reunion, filled with guilt, uncertainty, and delusion. While Tiny had loved their father with a faith that transcended reality – Mark’s experiences were altogether different.

It is not so very different from the tensions that exist in many families. This is a story rooted in the reality of millions of lives.

But this is a beautiful play too – unique, utterly beguiling and endearing. Through video backdrops, choreographed moves across the stage, and dialogue that is as much poetry as conversation, Jerome and James own the Minerva with crystal cut performances which outshine virtually anything you will see in larger venues.

The script, projected on to the backdrop to increase accessibility, adds a further dimension as well as increasing the pressure on the two young actors to be word perfect. Which they were.

They are simply extraordinary.

Despite the darkness, there is hope, and a lightness of touch with lifts the spirits; which reassures that in the end brotherly love can triumph even at the point of greatest physical separation in the final scene.

This is a gem, a treasure of a play.

A question and answer session at the end with the cast and directors merely served to reinforce this – as well as to show that the Chichester audience is discerning and articulate in the rapier-like questions that they asked.