Reviewed by Giada
Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review
A tender revival of Nick Payne’s early play One Day When We Were Young has opened at the Park Theatre. This intimate meditation of love, loss, and regrets, spanning over sixty years, is beautifully brought to life by Cassie Bradley and Barney White.
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| Photo by Danny Kaan |
Violet (Bradley) and Leonard (White) are spending their first night together on the eve of his departure for war, bound by Violet’s promise to wait for is return. But when they meet again,twenty-five years later, Violet has built a well-off life with a husband and two children. Their final encounter, nearly four decades later, finds them old, frail, and at their most vulnerable.
The play unfolds against the backdrop of WWII, the post-war economic boom, and the early years of technological advancement. Yet the outside world remains a distant presence, shaping their life indirectly. The war itself comes, disrupts, and recedes – much like Leonard, who appears only to retreat into silence, dragging his resentment across time. His actions – always reaching out yet never truly opening up – betray his guardedexterior. Violet, recognising his pain and her own role in it, tries to fill the void, knowing she can never truly reclaim the time they lost.
Bradley and White’s chemistry is undeniable, infusing warmth and humanity into characters that could otherwise be weighed down by the heaviness of the unsaid. Within each other, they find their way. James Haddrell’s direction creates an atmosphere of suspension, though at times this restraint diffuses the dramatic tension rather than heightening it. Finding the right balance between silence and theatrical momentum is difficult, and the pacing occasionally undercuts the plays’ emotional stakes.
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| Photo by Danny Kaan |
Pollyanna Elston’s design is visually stunning, seamlessly transforming the set from a bedroom to a park bench to a living room, while the costumes subtly mark the passing of time and the characters’ changing bodies.
Yet the question remains: why revive this play now, more than a decade after its debut? It’s neither new writing nor especially resonant with contemporary themes. While it undeniably contains the seed of Payne’s later, more complex works, it lacks their depth – something Bradley and White work hard to compensate for.
One Day When We Were Young runs at Park Theatre until Saturday 22nd March. Tickets are available from https://parktheatre.co.uk/event/one-day-when-we-were-young/
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