Bluebird

‘How the fuck would you know that feeling?’. It’s probably something we’ve all thought (or said) on being told ‘I can imagine…’ by someone we think clearly can’t understand our plight. But, then again, it depends who that person is. In Simon Stephens’ Bluebird, bouncer Andy is naïve in saying it to taxi driver Jimmy, who probably can imagine a lot of strong feelings, having seen his daughter, Alice, run over and having left her mother on the same night five years ago.Bluebird charts a number of taxi fares Jimmy makes which lead up to the first meeting with his wife, Clare, since Alice’s death. The premise is achingly simple, but the script devastatingly good. The story of Jimmy’s past unfurls at an exquisite pace; he transforms from just a face in the wing mirror to an entirely engaging character merely through the conversations he has with his customers.Exeter University Theatre Company mine this great script for all it’s worth, and their production is superb. Will Hughes is outstanding as ‘Mancunian as drizzle’, tender, bright Jimmy. Hughes’ reactions are flawlessly observed, whether to drunken jokes, a hopeless neurotic’s ‘do you want to go to bed with me?’ or tube engineer’s (who also happens to have an Open University BA in philosophy) ‘do you believe in the intransience of love?’. When on stage with Helen Coles, who plays Clare, both actors are second to none. Coles’ Clare is just as heartbroken as she is self-righteous and assertive - vital in a presentation of a script which could border on the emotionally self-indulgent. Coles veers away from this into believability. The supporting performances are also excellent. Nic McQuillan is tough and taut as taxi driver-hating bouncer Andy, but is later caught up, as we all are, in Jimmy’s story. Jess Price’s Janine is horribly sanctimonious and Lucinda Knight’s Angela attractively sharp. The stage is populated only by an opened out car and half a phone box from which Jimmy calls Clare, and scenes are bridged with a moving road projection. No more is needed, however, in this masterclass of realism; the acting does all the work. Go see it.