There are plenty of ideas and nice touches of absurdity in Lorenzo Allchurch’s new play. Overall, both cast and crew have bitten off more than they can chew – there are too many scenes that need to be expanded or abandoned, too many themes thrown in and not elaborated. But if the play seems a little lost at times, it is one that wins for its efforts and a production I felt warm towards.
Our hero, Allen, is in mourning for his mother. Allchurch, who takes the part, doesn’t ground his play enough in this grief nor, despite his appealing stage presence, establish the central character sufficiently. Allen’s family relationships are complicated (and dramatically interesting) but we only get to see his brother and father briefly, and that they are both played by Gabriella Moran does not help. It’s all directed just a little too fast by Alex Helfrecht.
The play’s crazy twist is good, though. Allen’s mother was a sculptor, her favourite piece a portrait of Beat icon William S Burroughs. And the artwork, voiced by Jason Isaacs, starts to talk! Allchurch pulls off the tricky interaction with a recording very well. Borough’s sense of mischief and anarchy is convincing, though I wonder if it could have been taken further, made darker? Exactly how much of his sanity Allen has lost is left nicely open.
Moran, who is a busy woman, also appears as the mother, a stronger role with a nice line in enigmatic and glitter in her pockets that proves effective. And there’s a neat comic part for Leah Aspden as a policewoman who meets, but doesn’t quite help, our hero. It’s too easy to speculate that the show might have focused on this duo more – suggesting Alan’s past and, perhaps, his future.
Not everything needs to be tied down, but it is annoying that so little is made of the watch that gives the play its title. It’s another loose end that leaves a sense of having missed something. Lost Watches aims at balancing a sense of magic with the absurd. It’s a task that’s harder than it sounds and, regrettably, not accomplished despite moments of potential along the way.
Until 23 August 2025
Photos by Mark Senior