Blavatsky's Tower
Barons Court Theatre
9th May 2013

★★★★☆

When Doctor Tim Dunn (Ian Hallard) takes pity on a young woman struggling on her own with a large armchair, his sense of chivalry takes him up 406 unforgiving stairs, 300ft towards the clouds, and right into the midst of one thoroughly dysfunctional family. The Blavatskys, as we quickly discover, never leave their sparsely-decorated home, the penthouse flat of an ugly grey high-rise block designed by their father, blind architect Hector (Ted Merwood). The exception to this rule being the eldest child, Audrey (Pia FitzGerald), who is the only family member to hold down a job and dare to venture out for supplies.

Although there are signs from the very beginning that all is not well in their concrete tower, we cannot help but laugh at the Blavatskys' social awkwardness when confronted with the stranger in their home. Audrey is undoubtedly the most worldly of the three children, but is still unfamiliar with small talk. Ingrid (Francesca Wilding) reacts with naivety, Roland (Timothy Allsop) is rather more hostile, and with an aggressive tic to boot. As Tim tries to furtively help their ill father, he realises he may be out of his depth, but is compelled not to walk away.

As is true of most of Moira Buffini's output, this script - one of her earliest - is both hilarious and hard-hitting, making us almost want to weep with laughter in one breath, and again with pity in the next. Her trademark metaphysical discourse is there, in the blindness, the solitude and the unknown visitor - how do you establish what there is and what it is like when you can't see or never leave your dwelling? Where are your points of reference? And does it make any difference when your attempt at being visionary ends up being rather normal? Despite the themes and varied tone, the pacing never feels uneven, helped in no small part by its tight 90-minute straight-through running time.

The world created by Hector may be hard for us to imagine, and Buffini does take us to some dark places. But if you peel back the layers of plot and emotion carefully, there is plenty of more common material. The inner conflict of hating someone you're supposed to love, frustration at losing control of your own destiny, guilty pleasure at identifying a self-serving solution.

The cast are all solid, with FitzGerald giving perhaps the strongest performance. She captures Audrey's hopes and fears well, showing us a rounded-out character early on. That said, the rest of the cast are also commendable with a clear grasp of bringing the funny. The children all deliver their deadpan lines skilfully, balancing the comedy and the tragic - there are no weak links here.

With Barons Court Theatre built in thrust, and two very solid pillars obstinately denying any other possible layout, the blocking is always somewhat of a challenge in this venue. There are a few moments where two of the actors stand facing each other, one upstage right, the other upstage left, and this causes visibility problems from most seats. Downstage would have been more successful, but director Will Maynard does his best to keep any issue short, and to alternate any disadvantage with another wing of the audience. You're always bound to miss some expression or gesture, but we were satisfied with house-right.

Still, technicality aside, it's an assured piece by Maynard, and his steady hand does as much to balance the laughs with the drama as the script. Parts become dreamlike, others are straight comedy, but again it's never jarring. Aided by designer Georgia Clemson and Claire Childs' lighting, he's created a typical and literal - but nicely observed - space. Dated beige blinds sit against the back wall, with a glimmer of light poking through during blackouts to evoke the passage of time. Simple, but effective.

Behind The Eye Theatre ran a kickstarter campaign to raise enough money to stage Blavatsky's Tower and it's very exciting to see how this relatively new method of funding has given rise to a production of this quality. The backers all made a gamble in supporting the company, and we're grateful to them for their role in getting this play staged, because we're glad to have seen it. Blavatsky's Tower makes for a gripping and - predictably for Buffini - an unpredictable tale.

Blavatsky's Tower ran from 8th May to 2nd June 2013 at Barons Court Theatre.

Nearest tube station: West Kensington (District)