The Other Side

A production of good ideas and honest intentions, The Other Side is based on real events and unfortunately gets lost under the burden of telling such a difficult story.

Three actors use chairs, boxes, some props and four door frames to tell the true story about the creation of the 'Hello Peace' initiative, a programme that sees Israelis and Palestinians making phone calls to one another to share stories and insights about the current troubles in the region.

Throughout the course of the play, we see families torn apart, innocent people killed and others left shattered by events they have no control over.

Director Gavin Robertson has created a wonderful looking production that uses clever and insightful staging techniques. His cast float about the stage, constantly changing locations by making structures out of the barest of materials. He and cast members Katharine Hurst, Kelly Taylor-Smith and Simon Nader together devised the script through research and interviews.

However, it is on looking at the text that the production’s flaws become apparent. The company have obviously done their research, but they seem more intent on presenting their findings than telling a story.

Most of the narrative is told via a jigsaw-like structure, with the majority of the play focused on filling in gaps. We know most of the 'what’ fairly quickly, but it’s the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ that take up the majority of the production. This disjointed structure does not allow much emotional investment. By revealing in advance what happens to key characters, tension is all but removed and scenes that should be rich in drama feel flat.

Much of the dialogue is also quite wooden, which doesn’t help. The ending does tie most things together and proves to be a decent emotional pay-off (thought the final moment is contrived), but even there the dialogue is easily the weakest component.

The Other Side is a well-intentioned production that has a lot to say about a rather difficult subject. It has its heart in the right place and contains some rather excellent staging concepts, even though its plot is a bit thin and dialogue a bit shoddy.

Watch a showreel for The Other Side here.