Review: Eucharist (Etcetera Theatre)

Review by Dan Sinclair

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At my day job, a New Yorker co-worker of mine regularly tells me how fantastic they think the pub theatre scene in London is. I know, shocking - watching plays and chatting about them doesn’t quite pay the bills on its own sadly. But they’re right, it’s special. Whilst it is currently in an extremely precarious spot (but touch wood, with recent announcements from the Old Red Lion and Hope - things seem to be looking up), it is very much alive in the exciting work being produced by new companies. One such company whose name has cropped up time and time again is Springbok Productions and at the Etcetera Theatre, they present their latest production. 

At its core, Eucharist shows us the conception of the relationship between Clara and Ben, and then its downfall. It’s a classic setup - a relationship play. The challenge here is that it leaves a story nowhere to hide, it rests almost solely on the strength of its characters, dialogue and their development. And if it’s mediocre, it shows. But fear not, as Eucharist excels as an example of the genre. We first meet our two characters in the wards of a dystopian medical programme, Eucharist. They are offering large sums of money to individuals who donate their organs to those more in need. Clara has donated her heart, and it has seemingly been replaced by the heart of the recipient. Whilst recovering she meets Ben, and the rest is history. 

Tobias Abbott and Saskia Mollard, as well as co-writing the piece together, play Ben and Clara respectively. This is a story bolstered by two beautifully nuanced performances from the duo. Mollard is piercing as Clara, her eyes seem to harden upon first meeting Ben. As the relationship blossoms, she gradually lets down this facial and emotional guard through such delicate and precise acting choices. It’s a joy to watch acting like this in a venue as tight as the Etcetera. As her partner Ben, Tobias Abbott carries a sense of unease through the story, leading us to the climactic scene. He’s charming - but controlling - but empathetic - but a pathological liar and Abbott does a fine job playing all four of these almost simultaneously. He delivers unsettling lines with such warmth and conviction that you don’t even notice what he really said until it's already passed. In both their writing and performances, Mollard and Abbot have created a sinister and creeping story of domestic abuse which hits an audience before they’ve had time to see it coming. 

‘You can trust me. It’s a lot less scary than you think.’

An aspect of the script which could be tweaked slightly is Eucharist, the medical programme itself. Clara sells off her heart for money, and in replacement gets the damaged heart of the recipient - but why would they do this, there are truly no benefits? It allows the resolution of the play to happen - but doesn’t quite make sense when isolated. Sure, they’re a Black Mirroresque organisation, but wouldn’t they just discard the damaged organ, take Clara’s for the transplant and give her a bionic implant? It seemed that the procedure itself was invented as a way of merely getting us to our final stage image, Clara living with a failing heart transplant from a mysterious recipient. For me, this unfortunately created a few logical knots in the play. However, these are skillfully ironed out by director Josh Maughan. He keeps a tension bubbling away all the way through, never quite letting an audience get comfortable. Every single inch of the stage was put to use, from the walls to the corridor outside. A simple set of a few chairs, some police tape and evidence bags on the floor serve as a constant reminder that something is not quite right. 

As the play comes to a close, we’ve seen a year in the life of Clara and Ben. It’s been heartwarming, bleak, funny, infuriating, distressing and loving. Eucharist gives us two standout performances from two fine actors. They are both a genuine delight to watch perform together. A play jam-packed with heart, it serves as a reminder that - as my co-worker knows - pub theatre is truly where it’s at. 

Eucharist is playing at Etcetera Theatre till 19th June

https://www.citizenticket.com/events/etcetera-theatre/eucharist/