Review: Aether (Jermyn Street Theatre)

Review by Seth Wilby

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The student, the teacher, the medium, the magician, and the astronomer. Five people separated by centuries. Five women of science, all invisible to history. And, in a tiny theatre below the bustling streets of Piccadilly Circus, their stories are told in an amalgamation of existentialism, ideology, and genius.

This impossible-to-pronounce play premiered at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, where it performed in Summerhall’s ‘Former Anatomy Lecture Theatre’. Swapping lecture hall for studio theatre, Aether, from company theatregoose, now makes its London premiere at Jermyn Street Theatre, where, without its Edinburgh venue’s vintage, educational setting to exploit, it becomes more stagecraft than sermon in what is a thrilling exploration of the theatrical medium.

Written by theatregoose artistic director Emma Howlett, Aether balances delicately on the boundary between play, lesson, and interpretive art.  In front of a singular blue curtain, with only an old-fashioned projector and a few small props to guide us, we are taken on a journey through the mysteries of the universe, focusing on five women (some real, some fictional) and the role that these mysteries played in their lives. Howlett treats the fourth wall as more of a concept with scenes melting into one as we traverse genres, going from historic tragedy to abstract comedy to fascinating lecture and back again across the sixty-five-minute runtime.

It would, in my view, have been beneficial to use this genre-bouncing even more- within the first ten minutes, we endure existential voiceover, interpretive dance, a particle-based gameshow, and a vaudeville chant on standard deviation (a particular favourite moment of mine), just to, by the time we have gotten used to this sensory marathon, slow the pace down entirely, and settle (mainly) on more traditional forms. The moments where Howlett abuses the endless potentials of theatre were the stand-outs, and the most engaging, uplifting a great play into something genuinely special.

Howlett’s writing is inspired, managing to be razor-sharp and ingenious at every possible moment. Despite having to grapple with the fact that most of the audience are not physics experts, Howlett squeezes in intellectual jokes that everyone can enjoy, while allowing a lot of the humour to come from the concept itself. At least at my performance, however, it felt like a lot of the audience struggled to get quickly on board with this interpretation, with a lot of scenes seemingly struggling to portray their true purpose- should people be laughing, or should they be questioning their very existence?

The latter part of that question is dealt with very well in this show, though. In what is a very verbose play, Howlett has made each syllable count. If you drift for a moment, you’ll almost certainly fall behind, yet you’d struggle to shift your focus away from this captivating play. Through simplicity and discussion, she paints vivid pictures of these complex ideas, meaning you leave the theatre feeling so much smarter than you entered. There’s a short while in the middle where it starts to lose some of its engagement, with the nuance all becoming a bit too much to handle, but I can assure you that this is a play you won’t stop thinking about for a very long time.

It feels wrong to have written so much without mentioning the superbly magnetic ensemble cast of Sophie Kean, Abby McCann, Anna Marks Pryce, and Gemma Barnett (credited simply as one, two, three, four), who represent the very definition of teamwork in theatre. Each taking on multiple roles, they move like a singular organism, morphing seamlessly between each character with an awareness of when a more caricatured approach is needed to elevate the central performance at that time.  

Throughout the hour, each takes their turn to play the featured woman of the scene. Our central story is that of the existential PhD student Sophie (played with a relatable authenticity by Kean), which provides the main narrative thrust. As the only 21st-century story, this is not only the easiest for the audience to connect to, but it also provides the funniest moments (the discussion on takeaway orders is a brilliant piece of writing). We connect to Sophie’s struggles, and, since we revisit her story throughout, get to really root for her as a character.

Next, we travel back to Ancient Egypt and meet teacher Hypatia, whose story provides us with an obvious foil to that of Sophie, in terms of both her knowledge and her experience as a woman. This is by far the most heartbreaking of the tales, and Barnett gives it a heartbreaking emotional arc. McCann’s psychic medium comes next, in a haunting performance of magical mystery, which, although somewhat hard to follow, certainly gives room for reflection. Finally, we have magician Adelaide, played by Pryce (who has many scene-stealing performances in minor roles), in a scene which is interesting, yet the most tenuously linked, and probably unnecessary to the piece as a whole.

Howlett also directs the piece, creating staging that feels hypnotic in its very nature, as aided by Sarah Spencer’s evocative composition and Ed Saunders ’ bewitching lighting design. Disappointingly, though, the energetic staging did not coordinate well with this, leaving many moments where the focus character was not visibly illuminated, as well as illegible projections. Howlett’s creation is something that could only ever work on stage, and, although a stronger bond between each story would do wonders for the play’s final scene, it achieves much more within one hour than you could ever expect, leaving you with enhanced ideas and a fuller mind.

Over 3,800 shows were at last year's Edinburgh Fringe. While this does make it harder for shows to compete for audiences, the saturation also allows for very unique theatre to be made. Audiences at the fringe are not all looking for high drama, but for something with that special ‘je ne sais quoi’. They’re more willing to take a risk on something unorthodox, with the hopes that it will turn out genuinely exceptional. Aether exploits this to the nth degree and creates something truly remarkable. Mysteriously alluring, inherently theatrical, and expertly intelligent, I really hope it finds the right audience for all its quarks and quirks.

Aether plays at Jermyn Street Theatre until 4th April. Tickets from https://www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk/show/aether/

Photos by Giulia Ferrando.