Review: Walking Each Other Home (Old Red Lion Theatre)

Review by Molly Gulvin

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Tim Graves’s Walking Each Other Home promises a lot: a study of religion and spirituality, a discussion on the differences of upbringings in the UK, and an exploration of family dynamics for gay men. With only 90 minutes to cover it all (including an interval), it’s safe to say that I was intrigued when walking into the Old Red Lion theatre as to how every strand would be tied together smoothly. With such varying topics, the show would certainly live up to its claim of being an ‘emotional roller coaster of a ride’, but how effectively it did so was another question entirely.

The play focuses on three characters: Michael, a middle-aged gay man who has returned from the Peruvian Amazon after spending time exploring shamanism there; Frank, Michael’s father, who is suffering from early-stage dementia; and Sandeep, Frank’s carer, who is a devoted Sikh and openly gay man. The play focuses on the day that Michael returns from Peru, coincidentally the hottest day on record in the UK, after Frank has to be supported by the police during a moment of confusion that leads to a smashed window and distress for both Frank and the neighbourhood. Upon Michael’s return, he finds that a lot has changed - Frank’s previous carer has quit, with Sandeep taking over the role, for one. Throughout the course of the play, the three characters learn how to deal with each other’s personalities when they don’t necessarily resonate with each other, and perhaps find reconciliation and more along the way. 

Walking Each Other Home advertises itself as a ‘deeply spiritual’ piece of work, but it feels as though Graves diverts from this focus to cover as much ground as possible. In just one conversation, Michael and Sandeep discuss the UK care system, right-wing politics, their history with drug use, and childhood trauma. This results in a script that feels underdeveloped, as multiple themes compete for attention without being explored in depth. The three main elements of the play—Frank’s Alzheimer’s, Michael’s Amazonian shamanism, and Sandeep’s Sikh faith—are introduced to the audience but are never given enough time to be fully realised, leaving their impact minimised. Even the fact that the play is set on the hottest recorded day in UK history, noted multiple times during the show, remains unexplained and irrelevant to the story.

There are also general story beats that need further clarity: for example, it isn’t clarified until the second act that Michael is actually aware of Frank’s dementia and that his actions come from bitterness instead of ignorance, or that Sandeep had a traumatic childhood (the first act simply contains heavy-handed pauses and awkward moments with no further explanation). With that being said, there are moments that show the promise of Graves’s writing - in particular, the butterfly motif that runs throughout the play makes for some emotive scenes and highlights how, with some more tact, the three leading strands that he aims to tie together can be linked with grace. 

All three characters feel like caricatures of the morals they are trying to impart, which leads to scenes that lack the subtlety required to be effective. Frank has some well-written moments of anger and confusion, but his rants about immigration and the left wing don’t seem to serve any purpose other than to further reinforce the stereotype of an elderly Briton. The mild-natured Sandeep is let down by some clunky dialogue, especially in the opening scenes, and is puzzlingly revealed as a recovering heroin user mere scenes before the end of the play, with no time to explore how this has and continues to affect his character (aside from a very abstract conversation in which he explains one drug high, but it’s a struggle to see the point that is trying to be made within it).

Michael is by far dealt the worst hand in this regard: he is seemingly meant to be portrayed as a character who has discovered himself and feels a close bond with Amazonian shamanism through his time spent in Peru, but instead comes across as arrogant, and his experiences sound superficial. A highlight of Michael’s growth is at the end of the piece, in the conversation between himself and Sandeep, where the latter performs as Frank to allow Michael to air his grievances: this limited development highlights how much could have been gained from these characters following slightly more traditional arcs through the play. The scene also shows levels of nuance that are not as common elsewhere in the show and are deeply welcomed - the discussion on the idea that events are not black and white shows the true intent of the play, and it would have been lovely to see more of it. Some moments perhaps imply that Sandeep and Michael start a relationship after the show, which didn’t feel at all necessary to portray the themes required, and takes up valuable time that could be spent on more important endeavours.

Despite the limits posed by the source material, the three-man cast gives the show some life and nuance that is desperately needed. Christopher Poke is an excellent and emotive Frank, gripping the well-written moments to provide a strong performance. Amrik Tumber adds an element of subtlety to Sandeep that is welcome and justifies his manner in a way that allows audiences to root for him. Edward Fisher takes Michael in stride and stands out in the more tumultuous moments of the play, although the inherent unlikeability of Michael makes it more challenging to support him throughout the play. 

Jason Marc-Williams’s direction has some lovely moments: for example, the beats of introspection that serve as scene transitions are done very well and give the audience windows into the character turmoil that are otherwise hard to spot. However, some beats are not given the weight they are owed, especially in lighter moments of the play, which feel necessary considering the onslaught of heavy subject material otherwise. Giving just a moment longer to the comedic beats could help to balance the sheer number of topics that seem to fly past without a moment to consider them. 

The technical design (with director Jason Marc-Williams and Noah Cousins as set designers and Rachael Corrigan as the technician) is simple in this production, but perfectly functional: the set helps to create the homely atmosphere of a well-lived in living room, and the lighting design is a highlight of the production with clear attention to detail - a particular favourite is the transition from orange to blue in the lighting as the play refers to swapping out the smashed stained glass sun in the doorframe with a blue panel instead.

The advertisement for this production asks three questions: “Will father and son reconcile before it’s too late? What is the nature of Sandeep’s true identity? Will Michael stay in Norfolk or return to Peru?” Unfortunately, none of these questions are answered in Walking Each Other Home. The concept of the play has true merit, and this merit shows at certain points, but a narrowing of topics is required to give each one the time and nuance it deserves in order to spark true conversation.  

Walking Each Other Home plays at the Old Red Lion until 16th May. Tickets from https://weareoldred.co.uk/whats-on/walking-each-other-home/