‘Forwards and Backwards’ is the best piece of fringe theatre I’ve seen in a long time. Square Peg Theatre’s first production ran at Camden People’s Theatre from the 13th-18th August and it is criminal that it didn’t sell out.
What makes this piece of physical theatre so convincing is the chemistry between its two captivating actors. Michael White and Katie Robinson (who won best actress at the Buxton Fringe Festival for Forwards and Backwards) play Gary and Catherine, a young couple navigating their way through the joy and heartache of a relationship. So far, not an altogether new idea.
What makes ‘Forwards and Backwards’ different is the beautiful way these two actors work together, using their bodies and voices to seamlessly create scene changes and their set. A two-person production often runs the risk of feeling stagnant and repetitive, however, White and Robinson vary the pace and length of scenes to keep the audience hanging off their every word.
The set is your average low budget fringe show minimalism – a wooden box, and a small square plank. This provides us with a bed, luggage rack, tray-table, chair, armrest, pay phone and many more. The temporal disruption of the narrative allows the audience to actively seek to piece together the story, and ties in not only with the title, but with the central theme of trains. As the characters travel forwards and backwards between Manchester and London, so do the scenes skip forwards and backwards between key points in Gary and Catherine’s relationship. Far from being confusing, the versatility of White’s and Robinson’s performances use the machinations to map the relationship progression and throw those changes into thought-provoking relief.
‘Forwards and Backwards’ sweeps the audience away with its depth of characters and vivacious physicality, leaving nothing to be desired except Square Peg Theatre’s second production.
