After three tours in Afghanistan, Jess finally returns to Florida. In a small town on the Space Coast, as the final shuttle is about to launch, Jess must confront her scars – and a home that may have changed even more than her.Experimenting with a pioneering virtual reality therapy, she builds a breathtaking new world where she can escape her pain. There, she begins to restore her relationships, her life and, slowly, herself.
Now,
there are a lot of interesting ideas at work in the play, but overall,
nothing is satisfactorily developed. The dramatic use of video
projection could have been a powerful way of expressing the virtual
world being trialled by Jess (Kate Fleetwood), but some of the design
work incorporated by it is, frankly, a bit naff. Meanwhile, the sliding,
minimalist set worked quite well, but was nothing revolutionary.
Acting-wise,
Fleetwood is good, and Ralph Little and Kris Marshall's characters are
well performed and pleasingly developed, however, the introduction of
Jess's mother towards the end of the play is at best trite, and at worst
downright tacky.
I think, more than anything, I was frustrated with Ugly Lies the Bone.
It had the potential to be exciting and original, it just doesn't quite
make it. It's not dreadful, but it is too much of a near miss for me.
3/5: Interesting ideas, average execution
Lyttelton Theatre:
National Theatre.
London
Until 6th June
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