Theatre Review - 23.5 Hours
David Sturzaker and Lisa Dwan in 23.5 Hours [Charles Flint]
SET in New Jersey, Carey Crim’s blistering drama explores a family’s fracturing after Tom (David Sturzaker), a high school teacher, is imprisoned for inappropriate sexual contact with one of his students.
On his release Tom has to rebuild his relationship with his wife Leigh (Lisa Dwan) and their teenage son Nicholas (Jem Matthews). Leigh stands by Tom, who maintains his innocence, but Nicholas, bullied at school and on social media, finds it harder to reconnect with his dad.
The response of another couple, friends Jayne (Allyson Ava-Brown) and Bruce (Jonathan Nyati), is mixed. Jayne is hostile and suspicious, reluctant to leave their daughters alone with Tom, while Bruce, a fellow teacher, wants to support his friend.
The title refers to the tiny sliver of time in each day that Leigh doubts her husband. Gradually the cracks begin to show in Tom and Leigh’s brave attempts to restore normality.
As suspicions arise in Leigh’s mind, and the 30 minutes in each day begins to lengthen, we too begin to question Tom’s innocence.
Katharine Farmer’s production would have benefited from a slower pace – the cues occasionally felt rushed and Dwan’s tonal register began so high that she had nowhere to go – but the performances are utterly credible and any niggles will hopefully be ironed out during the run.
An absorbing watch, 23.5 Hours keeps us guessing and raises interesting questions about guilt and accountability.
Until October 5