Review: The Light House at Leeds Playhouse

Thursday, 5th October 2023 at Leeds Playhouse (Bramall Rock Void).

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Light House is an interesting, heartfelt piece exploring mental health crisis and suicidal ideation. It does so not from the perspective of the person in crisis, but from the person seeking to support and save the “drowning man”. The show lassos the story of one man’s struggle to the wider protocol of Light House rescue missions – it’s up to the girlfriend to man the deck, keep watch, and ultimately, to reignite the light her boyfriend seems to have lost.

An impressive solo venture from writer and performer Alys Williams, the story moves between scenes of wide-eyed urgency to a range of amusing and endearing flashbacks – all leading back to this “man overboard” moment. Matthew Carnazza’s lighting gently shifts between tones and Emma Williams’ set design is nicely rough and makeshift, conjuring the idea of a Light House or a boat with wooden boxes stacked and positioned.

What’s really interesting about The Light House is the ambitious combinations of styles and devices, under direction of Andrea Heaton. When Williams’ character moves beyond those desperate, fierce sequences of keeping watch, she is delivering a lively commentary on the events leading to Nathan’s situation. When in buoyant mode, she’s pulling audience members on stage to play minor roles and does this with a perfect combination of reassuring energy and a gently pleading acknowledgement in the eyes (I speak here from experience…).

And this disarming presence somehow positions us as Nathan at certain points. The energy is infectious and the warmth is unshakeable, paving the way for unexpected moments of humour when audience members play along and act out their required roles as described in Williams’ commentary. The smoothness of these interactions is a real feat and possibly the crowning glory of The Light House.

The darker moments which follow at intervals, hold less power I think – and perhaps because of the success of the lighter side. Light and dark so often work well – and even jarring contrasts too, but somehow the shifts here don’t quite hold the influence they need to. It’s possible that this falls to only having a “real” Nathan very fleetingly, or the patchy puppetry channeled through a Pixar-style lamp, but while the combinations of styles works very nicely for the most part, there are times when the impact falters.

Above all, this show bears a big heart, wide open, and offers up not just a story of one couple’s struggle, but also great advice to live by. I think anyone would stand in good stead with someone like Williams’ character next to them, buoying them back towards the light.

The Light House is at Leeds Playhouse until 7th October 2023 – more information and tickets can be found here.